A CYCLIST alerted police and posted a video on YouTube after a woman refused to stop using a mobile phone at the wheel of her car.

He was so incensed that he took action after the woman drove away from him at Ashley Cross in Poole on Monday evening.

The man, who does not wish to be named, watched the burgundy Mercedes M Class vehicle travel from the civic centre roundabout to Ashley Cross at 5.30pm.

When it stopped at traffic lights, he could see the woman on the phone and approached her while filming with a GoPro.

He asked: “Can you get off the phone please?” and the woman replied “Sorry? No.”

The cyclist then said: “It is against the law to use your phone while you are driving” but the driver continued to say “No” and drove off, still using her mobile phone.

The cyclist, who goes by ‘Macrike’ on YouTube, said: “If she had apologised and stopped using the phone I wouldn’t have taken it any further but it was the complete denial of any wrongdoing that was the problem.”

The man, who travels from Westbourne to Poole and back daily on his bike, said he has been involved in two accidents, one of which was a hit-and-run.

He said: “I decided to get a GoPro because I couldn’t do anything about the hit-and-run because I didn’t have any evidence.

“I only had minor injuries but it could have been a lot worse. I have a little son and one day he is going to ride a bike. I’m doing all I can to make it safer for him.”

It is illegal to hold and use a phone while driving. Motorists caught using their phones behind the wheel face six points on their licence and a £200 fine.

According to the RAC Report on Motoring 2017, 23 per cent of drivers admitted to using a handheld mobile at the wheel to make or take a call in the past 12 months, and 18 per cent admitted to checking texts, email or social media.

Research shows drivers are four times as likely to be involved in a crash when using their phone.