Falmouth Police are criticising a sailor who abandoned a yacht on a lane near Mylor in Cornwall after it had fallen off its trailer over the weekend.

Falmouth Police are warning that a 35-foot yacht, left abandoned in the road near Mylor, could have caused a serious accident.

The vessel was discovered “by chance”.

Officers said the yacht had fallen off its trailer because it hadn’t been secured properly.

Instead of reporting the accident to the police, the yacht’s owner left it abandoned on a narrow lane in complete darkness.

Officers are now warning that it is an offence to leave a scene of a road traffic collision without reporting it.

Falmouth Police posted a picture of the offending yacht and the trailer on its Facebook page.

They wrote: “The driver had left the scene for a number of hours without reporting it to the Police so the yacht and trailer were left in complete darkness for some time on a narrow lane. This presented a serious danger for road users and subsequently could have caused a collision.”

“This incident serves as a reminder to motorists that intend to carry large loads to use suitable equipment to secure the load,” stressed the police.

“It also reminds those that are involved in a collision on the road that it is an offence to leave the scene of an RTC without reporting it, under the Road Traffic act 1988,” continued the social media post.