Man drove car while watching TV

Mr Patel has been caught watching TV while driving twice

A student has been fined £80 for watching a television on his dashboard as he drove in Coventry city centre.

Divish Kumar Patel, 22, was stopped in January by astonished police, who found he was watching a video tape on a VHS machine connected to the television.

Magistrates in the city fined Mr Patel, who is from Preston, after he admitted driving while a screen was visible.

Penalty points cannot be issued for the offence, which the engineering student had committed before.

He was fined £30 and cautioned by police after he was seen watching television while driving in Ansty Road in January.

None of the magistrates hearing the Coventry University student's case on Friday had dealt with such a matter before and the court clerk had to check legal books to decide an appropriate fine.

Mr Patel was also ordered to pay £43 in costs and had the television and video recorder confiscated.