Paphos child drives car into tree and ditch

A 12-year-old from Paphos was injured on Thursday after driving a car into a ditch and then a tree, after which the car ended up on its roof.

Paphos police’s assistant operations director Michalis Nikolaou said the child was driving a saloon car from the village of Emba towards Tala at around 2:30am, before losing control of the vehicle and veering off the road.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, he said the car belonged to the child’s father, who was asleep at the time.

“It seems that he took advantage of the fact his father was sleeping and took it for a drive,” he said.

He added that the circumstances under which he lost control of the vehicle are under investigation.

After the shunt, the child was taken to the Paphos General hospital, where he was kept overnight as a precaution.

Doctors are reportedly not concerned about his condition, and pointed out that the child was wearing a seatbelt.