Man stops runaway car rolling into traffic over M4 motorway

Matthew Scott had just left his house on Bassaleg Road in the city just after midday when he noticed a car on the other side of the road moving backwards.

“I did a double take and saw that there was no-one inside,” he said.

The car, a grey Nissan Micra, was rolling down Bassaleg Road in the direction of the bridge over the M4 motorway.

Mr Scott managed to get behind the car and bring it to a halt.

Unfortunately for him, he was now the only thing between the car and the steep hill at the western end of Bassaleg Road.

"I had my phone in my pocket but couldn’t reach anyone, so I was stuck holding this car,” he said.

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Luckily, after a short while, Mr Scott managed to flag down a neighbour who came to his aid and the pair pushed the car to the side of the road.

“I put some blocks behind the wheels to stop it rolling off again and then went around the houses to see whose it was, but I couldn’t find the owners,” said Mr Scott.

He went on to say that he had notified Gwent Police and that they had also started making enquiries into who owned the vehicle.

A Gwent Police spokesman said: “We were called at approximately 12.20pm today, following reports that an unoccupied car had rolled down Bassaleg Road, Newport, with members of the public bringing it to a standstill.

“The grey Nissan Micra was secured and moved out of the road. Officers are making enquiries into the circumstances.”