A VAN driver caught with his phone to his ear at the wheel said he was talking to an older friend who couldn't hear him properly.

Officers from the Dorset Police no Excuse team stopped the van in north Dorset after following it for more than a mile from Gillingham.

A spokesman said: "He was that distracted for over a mile across several junctions he didn't even see the police car drive by him, turn around and pull alongside him.

"He was still holding the phone to his right ear happily talking away until the sirens were switched on.

The driver stated he was talking to an older friend about work and couldn't hear him probably through the bluetooth so he picked the phone up. He was apologetic. No excuse, dangerous. £200 fine, six points."