Friends caught 'pimping out' hire car for off-road adventure

Our pick of the strange stories from around the world.

New Zealanders caught 'modifying' rental car

A group of men in New Zealand faced the wrath of a hire car company, after they rented a silver Subaru, removed the bonnet, added a home-made 'snorkel' to the air intake and took the vehicle off-roading and through rivers. The group was caught when police spotted the vehicle at Queenstown airport, still without its bonnet, as the men were picking up a friend. Police contacted the hire car company, which threatened the men with legal action and a huge bill to cover the damages. The group decided to band together to purchase the car outright from the company rather than face vast compensation fees.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Passengers stranded as train driver's shift ends

Passengers aboard a train to Madrid were left stranded more than 300km from their destination, after the train's engineer stopped the train because his shift had finished and he didn't want to work overtime. The train was stopped at the village of Osorno at 9.15pm and the confused passengers were forced to wait until 11.30pm for a bus to meet the train and continue their journey. Train operator Renfe has apologised for the mix-up, refunded the passengers and is investigating the engineer's actions.

Dog treated for heroin overdose

A dog named Charlie from Denver, Colorado, is recovering after overdosing on heroin at a 'doggie day care centre'. Local officials say they were chasing a suspected drug dealer when the man threw a suspicious package over a fence. The package landed in the yard of the doggie day care facility, and was promptly eaten by Charlie the golden retriever, who was rushed to a local vet for treatment.