From eating cereal to having a shave, more than 200 drivers were stopped last week for ‘distraction driving’ by Thames Valley Police in a joint initiative with Hampshire Constabulary.

Officers staged a week-long crackdown on distracted drivers and stopped 213 people for various offences including using a mobile phone at the wheel, and even reading, on the M40, M4, A34, M27 and M3.

Of those stopped, 137 were caught using their phones and others were stopped for reading books and eating.

One van driver was stopped on the M27 for eating his breakfast cereal while driving and a HGV driver was caught shaving on the M4.

The use of a HGV tractor showed police many drivers stopped for using their phones were holding their devices below the steering wheel, looking at the screen instead of the road ahead.

Sergeant Paul Diamond, who led the operation, said: “It is disappointing to see so many people still using mobile phones while they are driving.

“You can clearly see from the footage from our operation at the end of last year that if a driver's attention is on their mobile phone, it is not on the road and this can be potentially fatal.

“Sadly we have seen many examples over the last 12 months of lives lost unnecessarily because a driver has not had their full attention on the road.

“That is why identifying distracted drivers is a priority for the Roads Policing Unit across Thames Valley and Hampshire and we will continue to target drivers who choose to disregard the safety of others.”