A TOURIST visiting York has gone one better than mislaying his car keys - he managed to lose the whole car.

Finding himself at a loss when it came to finding his Saab, Swedish tourist Erk Burton scoured the streets but was eventually forced to ask York Police for help.

Unfortunately Mr Burton's command of English is only matched by York Police's fluency in his native tongue and so they were unable to get a clear description of the area where he had left his car.

Undaunted, the police launched a city-wide search for the vehicle - only to find it hours later parked on their own doorstep.

PC Gordon Keenan said a general alert was put out and details of the Saab and its Swedish number plate were circulated to officers - but it was not until they were returning to the station at the end of their shift that the car was spotted near the Medway Guest House, on Fulford Road.

"We do occasionally get calls like this from people who seem to get so enthralled with the city they don't take note of the street names and landmarks," said PC Keenan.

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