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Police say a social media 'star' bragged that he had tens of thousands of followers after being stopped for watching a video on his mobile while driving in Wolverhampton.

The influencer, who has not been named, was pulled over on the A449 in Wolverhampton at around 8.30pm on Tuesday, January 28.

Officers hoped he the social media user would encourage his followers to leave their phone in the glove box while driving.

He has since been reported, a spokesman for the force revealed.

A spokesman for CMPG said: "Driver stopped while watching a video on his phone stated he was a social media 'influencer' with 10s of thousands of followers. We are hoping his next post encourages at least some of his followers to leave their phone in the glove box while driving."

The police tweet – which has been liked more than 800 times – has sparked a fierce reaction online.

One said: "He's a 'social media influencer'? Guess that means you guys have to prepare yourself for a poor review on TripAdvisor!!"

Another wrote: "I just be very old, what on earth is a social media influencer? When did that become a career? Very scary that he thought it was ok to use his phone whilst driving."

And a third added: "I must have missed the part of the legislation that says social media influencers are exempt from not using their phone while driving..."