Police on horseback have chased down a driver after he was seen using his phone while at the wheel of his vehicle.

Two officers from the Avon and Somerset Constabulary mounted section were patrolling East Reach in Taunton when they spotted a driver in the oncoming lane using his phone. Body cam footage shows the moment that the officers spotted the offence, before turning their horses in pursuit of a silver Land Rover Discovery.

In a statement posted to social media Avon and Somerset said: "Officers from the Avon and Somerset Constabulary mounted section have been supporting Operation Telecom, our operation to clamp down on the risk posed by drivers who use their phone at the wheel.

This driver was sighted and stopped on East Reach, Taunton. Drivers face six points & £200 fine if caught using a phone."

A male driver was stopped on a side road and an officer informed him that he should not be using his phone from behind the wheel.

The pursuit comes after Avon and Somerset launched a crackdown on drivers using their phones last month. Inspector John Shaddick of the Tactical Support Team said: "“The majority of people agree that driving while distracted is dangerous and completely unacceptable behaviour. 

"In the last 12 months, we’ve received 713 videos of drivers using their mobile phones from drivers with dash cams.  We’ve taken police action in 607 of those cases, and are grateful to members of the public who are working with us to keep our roads safer.

"To those tempted to use their phones whilst driving, we say put it somewhere you can’t see, hear, or reach it and allow yourself a break to park up and check it if you need to.  There is no excuse for putting yourself and others in danger by driving distracted.

“Based on figures published by the government in 2021, we can expect 100 people to lose their lives on UK roads during the three weeks of this operation.  It’s a shocking statistic and the reason why we are committed to taking dangerous drivers off the roads around the clock, every day of the year.”