POLICE have launched an investigation after a car passenger was filmed inflating a dinghy outside the vehicle as it was driven through a town’s streets.

Footage posted on video sharing website Youtube shows the front seat passenger of a silver Volkswagen apparently inflating the boat, which hangs outside the window, as the car is driven along the A5 in Llangollen.

It was posted by Staffordshire-based motorcycle trainer Nigel Bowers, whose bike is fitted with a video camera and who happened to be passing through the region on Saturday.

He said: “It was while I was out training – when I go out I’ve got the cameras on and when I saw the car I couldn’t resist following it.

“I just couldn’t believe my eyes.

“They must have been blowing it up in the car because it got bigger and sturdier as they drove along.

“At first, from distance, I thought it was a parasol, but as it got larger I realised it was a dinghy.

“There are a couple of points where they pass pedestrians and they do come close to knocking them over. It was an unbelievably dangerous thing to do.”

North Wales Police have now launched a probe and said prosecutions could follow.

Inspector Peter Nicholson said: “North Wales Police are keen to ensure the highest standards of road safety and are investigating the incident.

“After the investigation is completed we will consult the Crown Prosecution Service prior to any decision regarding prosecution.”

A resident on Llangollen’s Regent Street, which is part of the A5, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The stupidity of these mindless idiots beggars belief.

“If an old person was there they could have been knocked over and seriously injured. I’m absolutely appalled.”

A spokeswoman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said: “Why anybody would want to do this is beyond us. It is important that we keep our heads in the hot weather.

“We would urge people to think about the risk to themselves and other people of such behaviour.”