A LORRY driver has been caught on camera by Cheshire Police using two mobile phones at the same time on a stretch of the M6 through Cheshire.

The HGV cab has been used to catch almost 2,700 dangerous drivers and has been demonstrated to police forces from across Europe at a road safety conference in Manchester being held today, Wednesday, October 5.

The footage shows the driver on the M6 using two mobile phones at the same time, with one phone to his ear in his left hand while he texted on another phone in his right hand.

The driver received a £100 fine and three points on his licence. 

Over the past 16 months, 2,680 drivers have been stopped for dangerous driving by the HGV cab, loaned by Highways England to police forces across England.

One man in Surrey told officers he needed to use his mobile phone to call his new girlfriend after ‘their song’ came on the radio.

Another driver in Kent was spotted watching a DVD while at the wheel; a motorist in Surrey was seen boiling water in a kettle on his dashboard; and a driver in Hampshire was seen reading a book.

The elevated position of the cab allows police officers to film unsafe driving behaviour, and drivers are then pulled over by police cars following behind.

Since the safety scheme began in April 2015, 3,494 offences have been spotted.

Nearly half related to the unsafe use of mobile phones, and over a fifth of drivers were stopped for not wearing seatbelts.

Anthony Thorpe from Highways England’s Incident Prevention Team said: “The vast majority of drivers pay attention when they’re on a motorway but a minority are putting themselves and others at risk by not driving safely.

“We’ve been loaning out the HGV cab to police forces to help improve safety and are delighted that the initiative is making a real difference and protecting motorists.

“It’s astonishing and worrying that drivers have got into bad driving habits and are using their mobile phones, watching DVDs or even boiling a kettle while driving.”