Harris suspect that it would cause such a splash.

Mr. Harris, 68, was parked in the driveway of the City Hall when, apparently not used to driving an automatic, he seemed to lose control of the car as he moved off.

He sped past his watching wife, up the curb, across the lawn and with hundreds of people looking on, took his car for its first wash, ending up in the fish pond.

Mr. Harris had only bought the Pride LX yesterday morning, just a few hours before his unfortunate accident. He was not injured, although the Police said he was badly shaken.

Mr. Roger Sherratt, Secretary of the Corporation of Hamilton, said the car was parked briefly in the driveway and seemed to get into problems when it drove away.

"It was very unfortunate. The driver seemed to lose control of the car and went across the lawn and straight into the pond. The driver was very shaken up by the incident,'' he said.

According to the Police, Mr. Harris was helped out of the car by passing school children and was not injured. "It was a brand new car that the driver had just bought,'' said a spokesman.

After the incident a crane was used to lift the car out of the pond. It was then taken to a garage to inspect it for damage.

Mr. Harris last night declined to comment on the accident.