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A man who was using a phone while driving his car through Taunton briefly found himself at the centre of a scene more reminiscent of a Wild West movie.
As the driver made his way along East Reach in the Somerset town, he was spotted by two mounted police officers who were trotting in the opposite direction.
Despite the apparently mismatched contest of horse versus car, they decided to give chase along the street, turning their steeds around and speeding up into a canter.
A video shared on Twitter by ASPolice Roads Policing shows the officers managing to pull the car over and give the man behind the wheel a stern reprimand.
The horseback cop is shown looking down at the driver and telling him: ‘You know you shouldn’t be using your phone.’
He replies: ‘No, no music. I have a problem.’
The officer says: ‘But you’re driving and you’re on the phone, and I can see that there’s a phone call ongoing.’
It is unclear what happened to the man after he was caught, but the tweet accompanying the video reads: ‘Drivers face 6 points & £200 fine if caught using a phone.’
The driver received a stern talking-to from the mounted officer (PIcture: ASPRoadSafety/Twitter)
Other drivers and pedestrians were able to watch the unusual chase through the centre of Taunton (Picture: ASPRoadSafety/Twitter)
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said: ‘The footage of the horses was filmed on 7 March.
‘I am not sure if they were deliberately deployed for mobile phone enforcement, or happened to see this incident and responded accordingly.’
Officers from the south-west force are involved in an operation targeting mobile phone users, led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council over the next three weeks.
Police colleagues from across the country are working together to target drivers who are using their phones or other similar devices while driving.
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He was pursued along the mane road.