AN elderly man who caused four miles of traffic jams while riding his mobility scooter along the A12 has been given the same treatment as boy racers.

The man, who is in his 80s, was seen riding at 8mph on the southbound carriageway of the A12 near Chelmsford, on Thursday, June 4.

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

Road users were subjected to four mile tailbacks, while officers investigated the matter.

Officers from the A12 Alliance Patrol Team formed a rolling road block around the scooter to back traffic until the man, who is from the Chelmsford area, could be escorted off at the Danbury turn-off.

After the incident, the OAP was reported for careless driving, however, Sgt Jason Dearsley, of the A12 Alliance Patrol Team said that police had decided not to send the man to court.

With close support from the pensioners family, it was decided to issue him with a year-long form of road Asbo.

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

Sgt Dearsley added: “Instead of tying up the court’s precious time we decided that 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 (ASBO) for road users.”