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Jeremy Clarkson has launched an angry tirade against Jeremy Vine after his former BBC colleague posted a video showing him being confronted by a motorist.

Petrolhead Clarkson accused the journalist of acting in a “sanctimonious” manner by slowing down while riding on a London street and filming an altercation with a driver.

But Vine told the Standard Clarkson's "brilliant" comments had just made him laugh.

The former Top Gear host suggested it was “selfish” of Vine to cycle in the middle of the narrow road – something the Radio 2 host and keen cyclist said he had to do to avoid being hit by motorists opening car doors.

Clarkson’s comments come days after Mr Vine uploaded a video of a row with a “dangerous” driver which happened in Kensington last Friday.

In the footage, Vine is seen cycling through the prosperous area before slowing to a halt in the middle of the road when a driver beeps her horn from behind him.

The video then shows the driver flying into a rage, with a brief tussle ensuing before the woman allegedly telling Vine: “I’ll knock you out”.

But writing in his column in The Sun, Clarkson criticised his former BBC co-worker for the altercation.

The Amazon Prime star wrote of Vine: “He can be seen cycling down the middle of the road, deliberately blocking the cars in his wake, and when one gets too close he stops — still in the middle of the road — so he can record the woman driver’s foul-mouthed tirade.

“The message is clear.

“He’s been verbally assaulted while on a noble quest to save the polar bear.”

Clarkson went on: “But hang on a minute, Vine. How did you know that the woman in the car behind wasn’t rushing to see her injured child in hospital? How did you know there wasn’t a pregnant girl on the back seat who was about to give birth?

“Can you imagine how frustrating it would be to be stuck behind a sanctimonious cyclist when you really are in a genuine, tearing hurry?”

He added: “Of course, it is not illegal to cycle slowly down the middle of a narrow street. But it is selfish and annoying for everyone else.”

Clarkson also criticised “morons” who he claimed have continued cycling on the road despite the new segregated ‘Cycle Superhighway’ along London’s Embankment.

Vine told the Standard: "I love Clarkson and I laughed all the way through his brilliant column.

"Obviously I didn't hold the lady up - after her violent reaction I let her pass, and, sure enough, caught up with her at the next lights.

"I live in hope that one day road users can all co-exist without this sort of thing."

At the time of posting the video, Vine said he was publicising the incident to his hundreds of thousands of online followers because he feared his aggressor may go on to assault someone.

He wrote: “This happened on Friday. I hate to overload our hard-working London police with footage from my commute, but I feel the person you see on the tape will at some point hurt someone very badly - either with her car or in a direct personal assault. See what you think.”

Scotland Yard later confirmed it was investigating the incident.