A MOTORIST has been fined after he was caught driving along with his little girl sat on his lap.

His actions have been likened to the infamous footage of pop star Britney Spears who was spotted doing the same thing with her son on her lap in 2006.

Essex Police have now urged parents to ensure their children are always strapped in after the incident in the South Woodham Ferrers area on Sunday.

The man was spotted travelling a short distance and police realised he was not in control of the car.

He was given a �60 fixed penalty notice and three penalty points on his licence.

Sergeant Danny Parsons of Chelmsford road policing unit said: “We regularly have cases where children are sitting on passengers in a car but this is the first time we have had a child on a driver’s lap.

“Had the car been travelling at speed and crashed the child could have been thrown through the windscreen and seriously injured or crushed by the airbag.

“Luckily this driver was travelling only slowly for a short distance but he was clearly not in full control of the vehicle.

“If he had been driving at speed and on a busy road he could have been taken to court for dangerous driving and could have been heavily fined, banned or even jailed.”

Sgt Parsons stressed that drivers must always ensure children are secured in their own available seats for journeys and that younger children require approved seats appropriate to their age and height.