The Dutch National Police Service has been left red-faced after posting an April Fool’s Day warning that Top Gear producers were requisitioning a 20 mile stretch of the country’s main motorway linking Amsterdam with Utrecht today – to film a new show.
A message posted on the police website advised motorists to find alternative routes between the cities so that Clarkson and co could mount a new world speed record bid on a public road.
It was visible for over an hour until growing confusion amongst the populace prompted web editors to remove it.
A spokesman for the force told the Telegraph: “This is obviously not the intention. It was an action of a single colleague who did not think about the possible consequences.”