THE need to buy a cucumber, a new fake tan and being a stranger to the area are among the latest bizarre excuses given by motorists caught committing driving offences during the Dorset Road Safe Partnership’s No Excuse campaign.

More than 20,000 motoring offences have been processed since the campaign was launched in January 2010.

They included one man, stopped for using his mobile phone when driving, who told police his wife was calling to remind him to buy a cucumber.

One woman driver who was stopped for not wearing her seatbelt told officers she had just had a spray tan and did not want to smudge it.

Another woman, when asked why she had not belted in any of the three children in the back of the car, replied that they were not her children.

A male driver caught speeding claimed it was because he was a stranger to Dorset and confused by the road signs, while a van driver seen driving with a blue screen in front of him turned out to be using his mobile and reading from his laptop.

Another man, stopped for doing 42mph in a 30mph zone, the proceded to tell officers he had written to complain about people speeding in the area.

And an elderly driver who was stopped for not wearing his seatbelt argued he was a law-abiding driver but checks revealed he had nine points on his licence and was driving without his glasses.

Dorset County Council road safety manager Robert Smith said: “Some of the excuses given by motorists beggar belief.

“They show the scale of the challenge we face in trying to encourage the irresponsible minority of motorists to give more thought to their actions.”

Last year saw the lowest ever number of fatalities and serious injuries recorded on roads in the Dorset County Council area.