Driver caught using shoe laces to operate windscreen wipers during Storm Bert

Police officers were left shocked after stopping an uninsured driver only to discover his windscreen wipers were being operated by shoe laces.

Staffordshire Police pulled over the vehicle before finding the ‘dangerous’ DIY fix to the broken wipers while out on patrol over the weekend.

The force shared video showing the shoe laces being used to manually operate the wipers as the country was being battered by Storm Bert on Saturday.

Staffordshire Police’s Road Crime Team said: ‘As creative it appears to use shoe laces to manually operate your broken wipers, it isn’t acceptable!

‘Not only was the driver punished for his car not being roadworthy – he also had much bigger problems for the police to deal with.

‘The lack of licence and insurance takes matters to another level. Vehicle seized by @‌StaffsRCT.

‘Driver reported for using a vehicle without docs and in a dangerous condition.’

It comes after a man was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and dangerous driving after a tractor was driven through floodwater in Worcestershire during Storm Bert.

West Mercia Police said the 57-year-old has been released on bail while inquiries continue into the incident in Tenbury on Sunday.

Many business owners in the town said waves caused by the tractor smashed windows of already flood-hit premises and worsened the deluge in some areas protected by sandbags.

A ‘danger to life’ flood warning is still in several places throughout the country, with Brits facing a mammoth cleanup job after Storm Bert left five dead.

More flooding is ‘likely’ this week after Storm Bert has given way to Storm Conall, which is set to bring rain to southern Britain and beyond on Tuesday night.

Up to 50mm could fall in parts of southern England after a new weather warning for rain was issued by the Met Office.

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