Dutch police have apologised for the actions of a "single colleague" who placed an April Fool's message on the national police website saying that a major section of country's motorway would be closed on Monday.
The message claimed that 20 miles of the 10 lane A2 motorway between the Dutch capital Amsterdam and Utrecht would be shut for the BBC's Top Gear car show to film an attempt to set a new world speed record on a public road "This is obviously not the intention. It was an action of a single colleague who did not think about the possible consequences," said a police spokesman.
The warning was posted on the national police website on Easter morning and remained there for an hour before it was removed following public inquiries about the road closure.According to the fake message, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, three Top Gear presenters, would be using the motorway on 1 April to try and break a world record speed record of 268 miles per hour on a public highway.
The Dutch justice ministry did not see the joke and has refused to comment except to say the "police organisation quickly moved to avoid confusion after a thoughtless action".The Dutch are enthusiastic April Fool jokers, with a 440 year tradition of pranks with origins in the Dutch war against Spain for the country's independence.
On 1 April 1572, Dutch rebels conquered the town of Den Briel in a humiliating defeat for a Spanish garrison commanded by Lord Alva, marking a major victory in the struggle against the rule of Spain.
To commemorate the victory, and a successful April Fool trick, the Dutch say, "Op 1 april, Verloor Alva zijn Bril" or "On April first, Lord Alva lost his glasses", a pun on the word "Bril", meaning spectacles and Briel, the name of the town.
No comments:
Post a Comment