A van driver who jumped a red light while a marked police car was behind has been given a ticket.

When pulled over by police in Beechings Way, Twydall near Gillingham, it's alleged he said: "It's a temporary traffic light and I saw nothing was coming so I thought it was OK".

A video of the incident which happened at just after 9pm yesterday was shared by Kent Police's Road Policing Unit on Twitter, showing the driver slow down for the temporary light at a junction, and driving off before it had changed.

In the Tweet police added: "A very poor excuse and even more worrying he didn't see the marked police vehicle behind him.

"Ticket issued and driver reported."

The man was issued with a Traffic Offence Report for contravening a red traffic light.

The Highway Code says drivers "must obey all traffic light signals and traffic signs giving orders, including temporary signals".

But the driver was not the first person to question the rules on temporary lights.

A motorist on Quora, a question-and-answer website, asked: "In the UK, can you legally run a red light at a temporary two traffic light system if you can see the other side is clear?"

A retired police officer from Ashford simply replied with "NO".

It comes after a Ford driver in Dartford also tried coming up with an excuse when she was caught holding her phone and taking a call on speaker while driving.

When stopped by officers in Princes Road, she asked "So I can't use my phone even if it's on speaker?"