DISTRACTED drivers are continuing to risk the lives of other road users by using their phones and eating at the wheel.

The latest offenders snapped by a Daily Echo photographer include a van driver tucking into a yoghurt with a spoon.

He has no hands on the wheel and is looking down while travelling at 40mph on a dual carriageway.

The driver was captured on camera travelling on the Wessex Way underneath the Richmond Hill roundabout at midday on Wednesday March 21.

He is among many drivers photographed behaving badly while driving. Some pictures were taken between 10.30pm and 11.15am on Tuesday March 20 and some between 11am and midday the following day.

All were travelling in the flow of traffic at around 40mph.

The actions of the drivers have been condemned by police who stressed that vehicles are "lethal weapons".

Sergeant Mark Farrow of the Dorset Police No Excuse team said: "Most motorists would realise that eating a yoghurt while driving is simply irresponsible. You are not in proper control of your vehicle and such incidents could amount to careless driving offences."

Referring to mobile phones he added: "You may think liking your friend’s Instagram post or Snapchatting your drive home is the most important thing at the time, but this is wrong and your life and those of others should be the priority.

“Nothing is more important than your safety and the safety of other road users and, while you think you can get away with it, it is vital that drivers realise they could kill someone.

“We are urging drivers to take responsibility for their actions and leave their phone alone.”

In the latest incidents, the driver of a huge Scania articulated lorry was reading a large map and a man in a Vauxhall Zafira was seen speaking into a hand-held device.

A Ford Transit driver was reading notes while looking down and four motorists were seen using phones which had been placed in cradles on the dashboard or windscreen. Two more were seen with phones in their hands.

The Daily Echo has been campaigning drivers using mobile phones at the wheel for 11 years.

The latest legislation, introduced a year ago, means those caught using phones at the wheel can receive six penalty points on their driving licences and fines of £200.

Motorists caught on their phones are no longer given the opportunity to attend an awareness course instead of receiving points.

Latest figures reveal that 32 people were killed nationwide in 2016 in accidents where drivers were using their mobile phones.

The Dorset Police No Excuse team, set up to tackle the most common driving offences, operates 24-hours a day, seven days a week at locations across the county.

Sgt Farrow added: "We would yet again remind motorists that you are effectively behind the wheel of a lethal weapon and I would urge everyone to ensure they drive safely and considerately to avoid risking their safety and that of other road users."