A 5-year-old autistic boy walked a half-mile from his Teignmouth, England, home to the train station and wound up taking an impromptu 50-mile trip.

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Ben Ford strolled right through the open doors of the train without being noticed, The Telegraph reported Tuesday.

"Ben is a massive 'Thomas the Tank Engine' fan and we always wave at trains when we see them," his father, David Triggs, told the newspaper. "But we hardly ever take the train. I suppose he just really wanted to ride in one."

The boy was noticed wandering in a parking lot 50 miles from his home by a pair of young girls. The girls alerted the police, who brought him to a Taunton office when he could not give his address or recognize his street while driving around the area. The police contacted other nearby departments and were alerted to Ben's identity by a department searching for him.

"We shall be more careful from now on. We don't want any more adventures like this," Triggs said.