Oz police have described themselves as "shocked and appalled" after pulling a driver near Alice Springs to discover he'd lovingly strapped in his slab of beer while leaving a five-year-old boy next to it without the benefit of a seatbelt.

According to news.com.au, the driver of the car stopped on the Ross Highway last weekend "just looked blankly" when slapped with a AU$750 fine for "driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle, and failing to ensure a child was wearing a seatbelt".

Constable Wayne Burnett explained: "He didn't get it. I asked him about the fact the child was unrestrained and the beer was, and he said he didn't know anything about it."

He elaborated: "There were four adults in the car, two in the front seat and two in the back seats and in between those adults there was the carton of beer strapped in with the belt. The child was sitting in the lump in the centre, unrestrained."

Burnett concluded: "I haven't ever seen something like this before."

For the record, the slab of beer in question was a 30-pack. The brand is not noted. ®

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