A rookie Scots police officer feared she was being pursued for miles by a drone – but the bright light in the sky was actually a planet.
It was only after a drawn-out “pursuit” that she sought help from senior officers, who told her it was Jupiter – some 365 million miles away.
The dozy PC had left a Glasgow police station at about midnight on Tuesday and noticed the object in the sky “following her.”
She tried to lose the “drone” as she drove towards the shopping complex at the Fort, just off the M8.
She called the general Police Scotland complaints number on 101 and told the call handler she was being followed by a drone along the M8 and “couldn’t lose it”.
The officer, who is in her first two years of service, was told to return to her station where she would be met by a senior officer.
She was found standing in the police yard with her hood up trying to hide from the “drone” and pointed out the bright white dot in the sky. They told her it was Jupiter, which is often visible on a clear night.
A police source said: “The story is the talk of the steamie at her station. Nobody can quite believe it. She was very alarmed and spooked that she was being followed by a drone.
“Everyone was quite concerned so you can imagine the red face and embarrassment felt when it was pointed out that the bright light following her was a planet millions of miles away.
“This is going to haunt her for years.”
Tom Wood, a retired deputy chief constable of the former Lothian and Borders Police, said the story reminded him of a similar incident years ago.
He said: “A young officer discovered an old vase wrapped in a rag and reported it as being a Ming dynasty vase, which is worth thousands. It wasn’t, of course, and from that day on he was known as ‘Ming’.
“This young lady will probably find herself with a nickname for the rest of her career. The story will be told in years to come. The real test is how she handles it.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Officers quickly established there was no criminality and were able to reassure the woman involved.”
