A MAN and his family were left shocked when a car heading in the wrong direction on the A64 drove past their vehicle in the next lane.

Andrew Stark, of Copmanthorpe, was in the passenger seat of a car which his wife was driving, with their two children in the back last night.

They were between the turn-offs for the A1079 and the Fulford Interchange on the westbound carriageway when they noticed the car coming towards them in the opposite direction.

Andrew, 46, explained: "Some of the vehicles on the opposite side were flashing at us. I noticed people were slowing down ahead. Because the traffic wasn't too busy everyone was in the left-hand lane anyway.

"The car passed us, it was quite a shock for us. Then within 15 seconds or so, the first police car was seen coming quickly up the eastbound A64 with lights flashing. By the time we reached Copmanthorpe, we have counted seven police cars."

"I started wondering 'what if it had swerved'. The car stuck to the outside lane. It wasn't swerving or weaving."

One motorist captured the incident on a dash cam, which can be viewed here.

North Yorkshire Police said it received numerous reports at around 8.25pm that a vehicle was travelling eastbound on the westbound carriageway of the A64.

Officers attended and stopped the vehicle, which was being driven by an 84 year-old woman, and brought the incident to a safe conclusion, the force added.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said: “Excellent work by all involved to minimise the risk to the driver and other road users. Thank you to the members of public who reported the incident and enabled it to be brought to a safe conclusion.”