Roland Bowler, 33, was gobsmacked when he clocked the bird flapping between lorries on the M23 near Gatwick Airport. He was riding shotgun in his friend’s van when the creature cut across them before ducking in between two lorries on the inside lane. After swerving into the middle lane, Roland says the female duck whizzed over an approaching bridge before resuming its place among the fast-moving traffic below.

The stunned passenger decided to whip out his phone to record the creature’s flight of fancy on August 19, just as it settled into a convoy position in front of a van. In the video, Roland says: ‘Look at him go. What’s he doing? 60 miles per hour. Go on boy. He’s having it. You’ve got to respect him.’ The duck kept its eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead and generally had pretty good lane discipline, although it did undertake the black van in the video.