Quote:
A learner driver in Germany had a narrow escape on Monday when her car was crushed by a British tank.
The 18-year-old driver made the mistake of turning into a column of British tanks that were travelling through the small town of Augustdorf.
The British soldier at the controls of the tank behind her had no time to stop, but managed to turn so that he crushed the engine of the car, just avoiding the driver.
The 18-year-old woman, who has not been named under German privacy laws, escaped unharmed.
Her Toyota hatchback did not fare so well against the 62-tonne Challenger tank.
The car was completely flattened forward of the steering wheel.
The damage was estimated at €12,000 (£8,500).
Police cleared the 24-year-old British soldier driving the tank of any blame.
“The soldier had no chance to slow down,” a spokesman told reporters.
The area where the accident took place is well known for tank convoys passing through.
British army bases at Herford and Paderborn are nearby, and it is used as a military training area by the German army and its Nato allies.
The name of the road could have provided the young driver with a clue: Panzerringstrasse translates as “Tank Ring Road”.
The incident is the second in Germany involving a British tank in recent months.
In February a tank based at Paderborn crashed into an elderly German couple’s front garden.
The driver had lost control after a problem with the tank’s tracks.
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I don't know how much truth there is in this, but I heard of an incident where a number of British troops in a German pub were refused service by the landlord. They didn't make a fuss and left quietly.
The troops, a tank crew, were passing the pub a few days later whilst driving a tank. They entered the car park, loaded a blank round in the breech, traversed the turret and shattered a window in the process.
They then fired the round reducing every other piece of glass on the premises to smithereens.
Anglo-German relations took something of a downturn in the locality.