AN elderly couple spent 15 hours driving around North Yorkshire after getting lost on a 20 mile trip from their home to look at buying a caravan, police have reported.

North Yorkshire Police were alerted to what they suspected could have been a drink drive incident at 4am on Monday morning after witnesses called in to report a car said to be all over the road and travelling at 20 to 25 miles an hour on the A168 road near Thirsk.

Officers eventually stopped the car and found the ‘lost and confused’ couple, aged 96 and 90.

They told police they had set off from home in Knaresborough the previous Sunday afternoon to visit a dealership in Thirsk, where they had visited many times before to look at buying a caravan,

The 20-mile journey to the dealership should have taken between 30 to 40 minutes going via the A1 motorway and A168 dual carriageway.

Instead police said they had been driving around lost, Checks were made and it was confirmed they had not been anywhere else or to visit anyone, they had just been trying to get home – and it’s not thought they ever reached the dealership.

Reports started to be made to the police after the couple had been seen to stop at a junction in Norton-Le-Clay, as if to check directions, before being seen driving along a verge.

The vehicle was pulled over by traffic officers from North Yorkshire’s Roads Policing Group at a roundabout close to the Roecliffe industrial estate, near Boroughbridge, around eight miles from their home.

A police spokesperson said:”Obviously, we took them home and strongly advised the gentleman to stop driving for his and everyone else’s safety.

“This driver was nearly 15 hours into a 40-minute journey. The ending could have been much worse. We have submitted forms to the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Authority over medical concerns we have over the driver.”

A police spokesperson said: “It’s a difficult conversation to have, be honest with relatives and friends you have medical concerns over, tell them to stop and report them to DVLA.”

There is no upper age limit for driving a car. However, all drivers have to renew their driving licence when they reach the age of 70 and every three years from then on unless there are medical issues or people are advised to stop driving by their doctor.