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Police were unable to punish a van driver spotted watching porn while driving on the A38 in Devon after he 'turned off prematurely'.

Police saw the white van driver watching his mobile phone while he drove and lay in wait ahead of him in a bid to bring the barely legal driver to justice.

But Sergeant Harry Tangye revealed the driver had got off.

The armed response officer was the first to raise awareness of the crime on Tuesday afternoon.

Tweeting just before 4pm he said: "If you are the guy watching porn whilst driving his transit van on the A38, we are waiting for you!"

Sgt Tangye's tweet suggested officers laid in wait and were expecting to get a firm grip on the mucky motorist.

However, it appears the tweet was somewhat premature.

Sgt Tangye said there was no further update as the white van: "must have turned off before it got to us."

Sgt Tangye said the initial report came from a passing member of the public at Lee Mill who spotted the driver and his porn in a white Transit van, reports plymouthherald .

The report comes just a week after shocking footage was released by Highways England showing a trucker with his right foot on his dashboard checking his mobile phone while driving down a busy motorway.

Another driver, pulled over by Devon and Cornwall Police was found to have sent 10 replies to 10 texts within one hour.

Latest statistics show that mobile phone use is a factor in an average of two deaths on the roads every month, with 123 people losing their lives over the past five years.

National Police Chiefs’ council lead for roads policing, Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, previously said: “Police forces are committed to keeping our roads safe and partnership with Highways England is absolutely crucial for that, as we can see from the thousands of offences detected by the HGV cab.

"Together with targeted local action by police officers, this has become an important element of our intelligence-led operations against dangerous driving.

“Driving whilst distracted is completely unacceptable and police are also making use of the tougher new penalties to stop this dangerous behaviour by ensuring that offenders face the full weight of law.

“People have to think about the consequences of their actions - a moment’s distraction can change innocent lives. It is never a risk worth taking.”

Plymouth Police have a new weapon against dodgy drivers – a heavyweight undercover lorry that has already been out patrolling the A38.

The unmarked DAF truck might look like an unlikely vehicle for police to use but it gives cops an advantage point to see motorists texting at the wheel, watching movies on their mobile phones or in in this case watching porn.