A motorist caught driving at 130mph claimed he was speeding to avoid catching coronavirus, according to police.

Surrey Police stopped the driver on the M25 on Tuesday.

The force posted a tweet which read: “An officer stopped a driver who was speeding on the #M25 at 130mph. His reply to why he was speeding was ‘I thought the faster I went the less chance I would catch coronavirus’. Driver reported to court. #slowdown.”

Police forces across the country have reported that some motorists are taking advantage of quieter roads by driving at high speed.

The Metropolitan Police revealed that one driver was caught speeding twice in two days on the same stretch of the A10 in Enfield, north London, with a 40mph limit.

He was clocked doing 60mph on Monday and 67mph on Tuesday.

Detective Superintendent Andy Cox, head of the force’s roads policing command, said: “Some people just don’t learn their lesson.”