Hackney cyclist catches policewoman on the phone at the wheel as she waits at traffic lights

A Hackney cyclist has caught a police officer using a mobile phone at the wheel - leading to the Metropolitan Police taking ‘action’ against standards that have ‘fallen short’.

The rider, Junaid McClymont, 24, passed the van waiting at lights in East London, and spotted the female officer holding the phone up to her mouth.

In the film he shouts: “I just caught you on your phone while driving.”

A Met spokesman said: "The majority of police personnel in Hackney borough work extremely hard and to the highest standards of professionalism to keep our communities safe.

"When officers or staff fall short of these high standards, it is absolutely right that it is brought to our attention.

"Senior officers at Hackney have been made aware of this particular incident and will take the appropriate action."

It’s not the first time a driver has been taken to task by a vigilante with a camera; other road users including pedestrians, cab drivers and cyclists are using their camera phones, dashboard cams and GoPros to report driving mobile phone to the police.

One cyclist told the Sunday Times he had caught more than 60 people driving while phoning in the past two years, resulting in penalties and warning letters issued by police.

Dave Sherry routinely films confrontations with drivers whi he spots on the phone, using his helmetcam.

Last year a bus driver lost his job after Sherry filmed him using a phone and posted it on YouTube.

Sherry said: “You look for the drift in their driving ability — where the cars go from one side of the road to the other like a drunk driver,” he said. “You filter up beside them and, lo and behold, you see a phone up to their ear or they’re texting at the wheel. They’re totally oblivious that you’re there.

“Once I was going up on the inside of a vehicle and he started to move in on me. He goes, ‘Oh sorry mate, I didn’t see you there.’ I said, ‘No, you’re too bloody busy on your phone.’ I’ve got no compassion for them. If I was dead on the road because the idiot said, ‘Oh sorry mate, I didn’t see you,’ and his phone’s more important, they deserve the three points.”

Drivers have called him a “snitch” and abused him but Sherry said: “I’m just trying to improve road safety. I have a zero-tolerance approach to reckless, careless drivers. The rules are changing; video evidence is indisputable.”