Unwelcome passengers for instructors

Hamsters, Chinese takeaways, vacuum cleaners and stick insects are just some of the backseat passengers carried during lessons, according to the findings of an AA survey of its driving instructors.

Some learners need to visit the vet, or take a trip to the laundrette, while for others there is always the weekly food shop to get home, or parents needing a free lift into town. Transporting pets is common, with cats, dogs, stick insects, and hamsters regularly given lifts to the vet.

“One instructor even remembers a goldfish won at the local fair. Perhaps the most unusual was a (late) pheasant, being taken home to be plucked and roasted for dinner,” says an AA spokesman.