A motorist is being hunted by police after driving through a 20ft-long puddle and splashing a mother and her two young children.

The parent was pushing one of her children in a pram when the driver soaked the three of them in an act described by police as 'unbelievable'.

Officers are now appealing for witnesses to the incident which happened in St Ives, in Cambridgeshire, around 12pm on January 4.

The mother and her two children were soaked near the junction of Pig Lane and Greengarth in St Ives (not the motorist in question)

A police spokesman said: 'On Thursday, January 4 around noon, a mother was with her two children, one in a pram and the other walking alongside her near the junction of Pig Lane and Greengarth in St Ives.

'Due to the poor weather a very large puddle had built up due to a blocked drain near the junction, which was halfway across the road.

'It was not raining and the puddle, some 20 feet in length, could easily be seen by motorists.

'Unbelievably a motorist drove through the puddle causing the water to soak the three.

The parent was pushing one of her children in a pram when the driver soaked the three of them in an act described by police as 'unbelievable'

'The driver could well have waited to drive around the puddle or drive through it very slowly so as to not cause water to splash anyone on the footpath.'

According to section three of the Road Traffic Act 1988, it is illegal to drive 'without reasonable consideration for other persons', including 'driving through a puddle causing pedestrians to be splashed'.

Do you know the motorist or the woman who was splashed? Email abe.hawken@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement

The offence can lead to a maximum fine of £5,000 if a driver's behaviour on the road 'amounts to a clear act of incompetence, selfishness, impatience or aggressiveness'.

However local residents have slammed the force for wasting resources on the appeal as they said police should be prioritising serious crimes.

Lisa Hawksford, 46, who lives opposite the puddle, said: 'A 13-year-old lad got forced out of his home by burglars last week. Some guys came to his door and they basically forced entry.

'Police should be focusing on burglaries, theft and assault, things like that. I understand this lady got drenched but it's just one of those things.'

Ms Hawksford said pedestrians are regularly splashed by cars going through the puddle due to the state of the road.

Officers are now appealing for witnesses to the incident which happened in St Ives, in Cambridgeshire, around 12pm on January 4

She said: 'My husband has reported it twice. He reported it to the council before Christmas and again last week.

'Pedestrians walking down here get absolutely soaked. Some people will drive down and stop but others won't'.

Stef Barnes, who lives in Cambridge, added: 'Have the police really got nothing better to do than hunt down a car that drove through a puddle and splashed a few people? Hardly a major crime is it?'

Nina Freer added: 'Murder? GBH? Burglary? Robbery? Rape? Oh no we haven't got time for that, no we'll go after someone who drove through a puddle and got someone wet!'

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Police said: 'We've got no description of the vehicle.

'A member of the public mentioned this incident to a PCSO who wrote to residents more as a reminder to be considerate when driving through/ close to puddles.'

Police initially blamed a block drain for the build up of water, but a spokesman for Anglian Water said this was not the case.

Cambridgeshire County Council, which is responsible for the road, has been contacted for comment.