Man stopped from taking driving test in Scarborough for bizarre reason - after travelling 285 miles to take it
A dad who drove over 285 miles for his driving test was left stunned after the test was terminated by an examiner because the passenger seat had "a few rain drops on it."
Jacob Caroll, 27, had been trying to get a driving test booked near his Chichester home for months.
But after failing to secure a slot, dad-of-three Jacob decided to widen the search area and began looking near his wife's grandparents in Scarborough - nearly 300 miles away.
To his delight, he managed to get one and had the car professionally cleaned before driving the mammoth journey up there.
However, after arriving at the test centre on a rainy day with his wife's grandad, a few raindrops had fallen on the passenger seat as he got out.
He claims the examiner refused to sit in the passenger seat because it was damp - and also declined an offer of a blanket to sit on.
After trying and failing to convince the examiner, Jacob was told the test had been terminated and he'd have to rebook.
Jacob, a shift manager, from Chichester, West Sussex, said: "It was just a few raindrops, and she patted it and said she couldn't do it.
"It's literally a joke.
"The next one there is April, just before my theory runs out.
"I didn't even get the car moving."
Jacob said the whole interaction at Scarborough Driving Test Centre on the December 15 has made him "anxious" to go for another test.
He said: "The first interaction was when they take your name, and she didn't say anything about the weather.
"It was chucking it down and we went to the car.
"I opened the door, and she said she couldn't sit in it.
"There's a dark patch on the seat but it's a stain and that wasn't wet - I had the car professionally cleaned the day before.
"I leaned back to get a blanket [...] and before I put the blanket down, she said she can't sit on it because it's all creased up.
"She went to sit on it and then said she couldn't do it.
"She walked off and said I had to pay for another test and that was it."
Jacob's mother-in-law, Vicky Bagshaw, 46, said she was "flabbergasted" when she heard what had happened.
She said: "They have three small kids and him being able to drive would take a massive load off my daughter.
"He's a very competent learner driver and is insured on their car.
"He was shocked.
"He wasn't allowed to speak to anyone to dispute it.
"A couple of driving instructors were waiting with their pupils, and they were absolutely flabbergasted.
"She didn't attempt to sit on it, she had a long coat, it was literally sheeting rain on the seat and that was it, a few drops.
"He was so upset.
"They'd paid for a hotel, gone all the way up there and paid for a test he never got to do."
A DVSA spokesperson said: "DVSA cannot comment on individual complaints."
"We would encourage any learner driver who feels they have been mistreated to report it to us at the earliest opportunity."