Cereal offender caught munching breakfast at wheel

A van driver enjoying a bowl of breakfast cereal at the wheel faced a different sort of porridge after being stopped by police.

The hungry driver's error was among more than 190 offences recorded by forces across Yorkshire during a month-long crackdown on some of the region's major roads.

Officers, who used HGV cabs provided by National Highways, also recorded two-handed texters and those happy to wave a single finger of frustration when spotted by police.

Insp Clive Turner said: "Holding a driving licence is a privilege and not a right, however a small minority of people take it for granted."

Officers from North, South and West Yorkshire Police, as well as colleagues from Northumbria and Durham, patrolled roads including the A1, M1 and M18 between 4 November and 13 December as part of Operation Tramline.

Police in the passenger seat of the HGV were able to use their elevated position to observe and record anyone flouting the rules of the roads.

The cereal eater was spotted in North Yorkshire as was the driver who raised his middle digit when he realised he had been recorded not wearing a seatbelt.

Meanwhile, footage captured by South Yorkshire Police showed an HGV driver typing on a tablet or laptop computer while at the wheel. A Ford Focus driver was also caught using both hands to text on their mobile phone.

Under the operation, when an offence was recorded, officers in a separate police vehicle were alerted and the suspect driver pulled over so enforcement action could be taken.

A National Highways spokesperson said almost 50,000 offences had been recorded since the launch of the scheme in 2015.

Insp Turner, from North Yorkshire Police, said: "It is always disappointing to find so many drivers who are prepared to put their life and others lives at risk for the sake of not wearing a seat belt or checking their mobile phones."

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