A TRUCK driver was left bemused when he found himself locked in at the Chippenham Pitstop.

The Bristol driver was using the toilet last Wednesday when he discovered that staff had locked up the commercial filling station, on the B4122 towards Sutton Benger just off junction 17, and gone home.

The quick-thinking driver, from Kingswood, phoned police at 10.24pm, as he didn’t want staff to be concerned, before leaving the premise via a fire door which locked itself behind him.

A Chippenham Pitstop spokesman said: “Chippenham Pitstop is aware that in the process of locking up at closing time on April 29, a customer was inadvertently left unnoticed in the toilets of the service building.

“He was a regular customer who was staying the night in his lorry cab so was familiar with the site and was able to leave the building via a fire exit without any distress.

“He was concerned that, being unable to secure the fire door from the outside that the building would be left unsecure and kindly called the Police for assistance.

“They were thankfully able to secure the building and when we opened in the morning the customer reported the incident to our catering manager who offered our sincere apologies and a free cup of coffee.

Site management has since refreshed the closing down procedures to prevent a repeat of the incident.

The family business, which offers roadside services to hundreds of lorry drivers every week, is currently investing in a new outdoor gym to promote healthy living and on May 16 they are holding a car boot sale to raise funds for a defibrillator for the site.