A VAN man caught using his phone in a busy street in Ludlow has been fined by magistrates.

Richard Harrington was proven guilty in his absence of one count of using a handheld mobile phone or device while driving a motor vehicle on a road by magistrates in January.

Magistrates in Worcester heard from the prosecutor that the 50-year-old, who was not present at the hearing, had been caught using a hand-held mobile phone while behind the wheel of a Ford Transit in Ludlow's Gravel Hill on July 4.

Drivers are banned from using hand-held devices including phones and sat navs while at the wheel, including while stopped at traffic lights or in traffic queues.

Harrington, of Dodmore Lane, Ludlow, was fined £220 and received six penalty points for the offence.

He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £90 and an £88 victim surcharge, which is used to help fund services supporting victims of crime.