AN elderly man who caused four miles of traffic jams by riding his mobility scooter along the A12 has been given a form of “roads Asbo”.

The man, who is in his 80s, was seen riding at 8mph on the southbound carriageway of the A12, near Chelmsford, on Thursday, June 3.

Police received numerous calls from drivers concerned for the welfare of the scooter rider as he trundled along the inside lane of the dual carriageway, which has no hard shoulder.

Officers from the A12 alliance patrol team went to investigate and formed a rolling roadblock around the scooter to hold back traffic until the man, who is from the Chelmsford area, could be escorted off at the Danbury turn-off.

Sgt Jason Dearsley, of the patrol team, said it was decided not to send the man to court for careless driving and after the close support of his family, it was decided to issue him with a year-long Section 59 warning.

The warning means if he behaves in such a manner on any road in future, his scooter could be confiscated.

Sgt Dearsley added: “Instead of tying up the court’s precious time we decided the best way to deal with this matter was to use powers given to us normally for dealing with boy racers.

“We see it as an anti-social behaviour order for road users.”