Driver filmed using two mobile phones at wheel of 44-tonne lorry on M4

Man can be seen lowering phones as police approach

Driver was stopped by police (Avon and Somerset Police)

Police footage captures the moment a man is caught using two phones while driving a lorry on a motorway.

Video shows Avon and Somerset officers approaching the driver in an unmarked police heavy goods vehicle on the M4.

As the police get to the window, the man, driving a 44-tonne articulated lorry, can be seen lowering the two phones.

The driver was subsequently reported to a supporting police unit who stopped him and dealt with the offences.

Chief inspector Jason Shears, roads policing lead for Avon and Somerset Police, said: 'Driving whilst distracted is every bit as unacceptable as drink driving and just as likely to be fatal.

"Research has shown that drivers using a phone - handheld or hands free - are four times more likely to be involved in a collision and their driving is also impaired to a degree similar to that of a drink driver.

"Safety on the roads of Avon and Somerset is our road policing unit's absolute priority and we will not hesitate to use every option open to us, including the deployment of a range of unmarked vehicles, to tackle dangerous and anti-social driving habits."

As part of Operation Tramline, the force last week also caught a vehicle weighing 3.5 tonnes illegally towing a trailer in lane three of the M5 motorway at excessive speed.

In a separate incident, officers dealt with a motorist holding a mobile phone, with their right little finger touching the bottom of the steering wheel and their other hand nowhere near the wheel, on the M4 motorway.

Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens said: "I am fully supportive of Op Tramline and the targeting of offenders whose actions are putting lives at risk.

"The offences captured by Avon and Somerset Police's Road Policing Unit are appalling, unacceptable and dangerous.

"The minority who use mobile phones and tablets or become distracted by sat navs are not just putting themselves in danger but others around them.

"We all know the risks when looking away from the road to change music or to check text messages, and the solution is simple; do not take the risk and instead keep focused."