In a case of real life mixing with one of film’s most popular contemporary characters, a giant ‘Minion’ has escaped onto a road and landed on top of oncoming traffic.

The giant inflatable character known as a Minion – from the Despicable Me movie franchise – came loose from its moorings on a busy Irish road, according to the Irish Times.

Standing over 10 metres tall, the inflatable Minion was advertising a temporary fairground set up in the area.

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Reports say the accident happened on a particularly windy Monday afternoon in Dublin.

Local Dublin City councillor Paul McAuliffe was quick to comment on the anomaly and Tweeted a view from a car on the road.

Escaped Minion at Omni in Santry may seem hilarious but its a dispicable breach of health & safety @DubCityCouncil pic.twitter.com/w443usabzb

— Cllr Paul McAuliffe (@PaulMcauliffe) August 3, 2015

Witness Erin Van Londen told the Irish Times the escaped Minion was startling to motorists in its path.

“I’m not sure how it got loose but I just saw it coming loose and flying across the road as we were driving,” she said.

“It’s been very windy in the area.”

Cr McAuliffe said while the incident may seem funny, it could have resulted in serious danger.

“I don’t want to sound like a killjoy, but if that had landed on a cyclist, for instance, it could have been serious,” he said.

“If you take the Minion part of it out, if this was a large inflatable weather balloon that had not been properly tethered, there would be no humour in this story at all.”

He has referred the incident to the planning enforcement department of the council to investigate if the minion should have been subject to planning regulation.

“It seems like one of those innocent ‘silly season’ stories but I am very concerned that such a large object was allowed escape onto a busy main road. There could have been far more serious consequences,” he said.

“Fairground events and festivals are really important in bringing footfall to our city villages but even the smallest events have health and safety conditions.

“I have asked the Council to provide me with a report on the incident and for the operators of the fairground to be interviewed by council officials.”