A mother to be was left stunned when she spotted a mischievous Bulldog taking a Mercedes for a spin.

Romy McDonald, 27, was heading back to her car after enjoying a coffee with her mother-in-law Susan at Freeport shopping outlet when she spotted the four-legged friend trying his hand at reversing a car.

Ms McDonald, of Saxon Bank, Braintree, had noticed a black Mercedes backing out of a parking space in the shopping centre car park and became aware something was awry when the car continued to roll backwards and eventually hit a kerb.

She said: "We thought that the person wasn’t looking where they were driving and that they were going to hit the kerb.

"When they hit the kerb we got closer to the car to see if they were ok.

"I was worried the driver may have passed out or something and was maybe slumped down in the footwell.

"But when we got close enough all I could see was a charming bulldog with its paw on the handbrake button.

"I think he must have climbed through from the back of the car.

"It was brilliant, we both burst out laughing and couldn’t believe what we were seeing. The bulldog was just sat there looking quite happy and chuffed with itself.

"I don’t really think it knew what was going on but it’s the last thing you expect to see."

Despite the comical side, Ms McDonald admits she was thankful the car was halted by the kerbside as it could have caused serious damage to other vehicles parked nearby.

She added: "It was on slight hill which is how it must have rolled back.

"It only stopped when it hit the kerb, otherwise it would have kept rolling and hit about ten cars which were parked behind it.

"Luckily there were no cars or people that close to the car when the bulldog decided to have a go at driving.

"We went and told security who rewound the CCTV and were able to watch the whole thing. We didn’t find out who the owner was but they put an announcement out to try and track them down."