Ananova:

A Liverpool motorist was stopped by a police officer and questioned - for laughing at the wheel of his car.

Gary Saunders was using a hands-free phone when he burst out laughing at a joke told by his brother-in-law.

A few moments later he noticed a traffic officer flashing his lights at him and gesticulating at him to stop his Renault.

When Mr Saunders got out of his car, the policeman told him: "Laughing while driving a car can be an offence."

The officer spent half an hour questioning the company director and ordered him to produce his licence and other documents at a police station.

Mr Saunders, managing director of Spontex Workwear, said the delay meant that he missed an important appointment.

"I couldn't believe it when he told me I'd been pulled over for laughing," he said. "I was driving very safely in the Birkenhead Tunnel and took a call.

"He said something funny and I was laughing - simple as that. I never took my eyes off the road and was in full control of the car.

"I definitely wasn't speeding so I asked what the problem was and he told me I was laughing too much."

Supt Kevin Hagger, of the Mersey Tunnels Police, said: "There is no record of the incident in the system so it seems the gentleman was just spoken to by the officer and the matter not taken any further."