A DRIVE in the Worcestershire countryside caused bed-lam for the owner of a new car owner when a mattress bounced off a lorry and hit his vehicle.

Keith Tilley had only bought his Mitsubishi FTO 24 hours before he took it out for a spin last Friday.

At 7.40pm he was driving along the road by the West Midlands Safari Park, heading from Kidderminster to Bewdley, when the divan bed dropped from the flat-bed lorry travelling in the opposite direction.

The single bed skidded across the road before smashing into his car.

Mr Tilley and his wife, from Pelsall, escaped unhurt but £1,000 of damage was caused to the front of his car.

The new mattress was covered in red checked fabric and was still in its wrappings when the accident happened.

It ended up resting at the side of the road, out of the way of the other traffic.

But when police arrived at the scene of the incident the following morning, the mattress had vanished.

Only a headboard was left behind in the hedge.

"The bed could not have been properly secured on to the lorry and it is fortunate no one was badly hurt," said police spokeswoman Caroline Schubert.

Kidderminster police are also eager to hear from anyone who saw the bed being removed from the side of the road or anyone who was expecting delivery of a bed fitting the description.

Anyone with information should contact the police force on 01562 820888.