A DRIVER whose quick snack at the wheel cost him £250 says he has tasted the wrong side of the law for the last time.

Andrew Kitch, of Hullock Road, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was caught steering his removals van with his forearms and elbows as he ate a bag of crisps.

The 35-year-old was spotted by a traffic officer while he was negotiating a mini-roundabout in Benton Lane, North Tyneside, on December 14 last year.

At North Tyneside Magistrates' Court, on Thursday, he denied the charges but was found guilty of failing to keep proper control of the truck.

He was fined £250 and ordered to pay £200 costs.

He was also fined £50 for failing to secure his fuel cap and found guilty of failing to produce tachograph records, for which there was no separate penalty.

Mr Kitch said yesterday that, as a father-of-two, he took road safety very seriously.

Despite eating the crisps, he maintained that he had full control of the vehicle.

He said: "I have always thought of myself as a careful driver and would not have eaten the crisps unless I knew I had control of the van."

However, after his encounter with the courts, he pledged: "I know I won't do it again."

Mr Kitch said his fine seemed ludicrous when, on the same day, a 19-year-old was fined £500 for careless driving after he knocked down and killed a schoolgirl.

He said: "I know I was found guilty and accept what has happened.

"But it seems stupid that a man who kills someone ends up paying almost the same as someone eating a bag of crisps at the wheel.

"I've been driving about ten years, including as a taxi driver and for a few months on the removals job, and never had any other problems.

"This will end up costing me £500, which seems stupid when you see what other people get for worse offences."