A Warrnambool police spokeswoman said the accident happened about 1.45am, but police were not notified until daylight when the vehicle was spotted in a paddock by passing motorists.

“The car rolled three times and ended up in a paddock,” the police spokeswoman said.

“The driver swerved to avoid a dog on the road.

“The car’s mangled and on its roof. It’s been written off.” 

She said police had spent a number of hours searching the paddocks and trying to locate the driver, who was not answering his phone.

He was later found safe and well at Ellerslie.

She said officer were concerned he might have been trapped under the car or laying injured in a paddock somewhere.

The officer said that while the driver had done nothing wrong, she urged anyone involved in an accident who leaves the scene uninjured to notify police so officers don’t waste time looking for the occupants.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, a man was arrested on Sunday after stealing $3000 worth of top-shelf alcohol from stores across Warrnambool during the past two weeks.

A Warrnambool police spokeswoman said the man had been seen walking into five different stores and filling a sports bag with alcohol and walking out without paying.

The officer said the man, aged in his 30s, was in the possession of eight bottles of alcohol when arrested on Sunday.

She said the man had stolen expensive spirits such as Jack Daniels, Jim Beam and Johnny Walker, some worth up to $90 a bottle.

Meanwhile, a thief broke into a Portland fishing store in Bentinck Street on Sunday. 

Sergeant Sean Elliott, of Portland police, said burglars forced entry to the Compleat Angler store through a rear roller door about 4.30am.

He said a box of surf rods and reels had been stolen and police were still waiting to hear from the store’s owner to determine if anything else had been taken.