Man stages fake murder in front of Google street view van

"I whiffled into the garage, grabbed Gary, one of my mechanics, and a pickaxe handle. Came out, laid down in the street, and he stood over me, pretending to give me a leaf massage with the pickaxe handle."

The 56-year-old has since apologized.

This was after someone finally spotted the image a year later and called the cops, likely fearing it was real, according to The Telegraph.

"The two mechanics actually posed for the fake murder in August 2012 but forgot about the image. ... Police were called on August 2013 and went round to the garage - a year after the pair had posed for the picture."

When police arrived at Tomson Motor Company, they obviously found the mechanic, who has operated the garage for three decades, alive and well.

More popular and trending stories

According to Edinburgh Evening News, Thompson was "mortified" when police showed up. He says the officers were actually impressed and left laughing.

And the mechanic in the picture, Gary Kerr, says they might try to one-up themselves and come up with something better next time the Street View van comes around.

But pranking Street View is nothing new. In Japan, a group of people got together and wore bird heads for the images. (Via Google)

And two men in Norway got decked out in snorkel gear, as highlighted by Tom's Guide.

As for Thompson, he says his friends and family have been calling him to talk about the scene on Google Maps.