Driver ate spaghetti as he steered a 40-ton lorry with his knees

But Martin Veens was more interested in his lunch as he roared along the A55 dual carriageway.

In fact, he was steering with his knees as he used one hand to hold a steaming saucepan of spaghetti and the other to fork the pasta into his mouth.

Not surprisingly, his driving became a little erratic and after reports from other drivers the police decided to send their helicopter to investigate.

Magistrates were shown a video taken from the aircraft which showed the left-hand drive truck straddling the white lines of the carriageway in North Wales.

"He was also seen eating food out of a saucepan while driving by using his knees," prosecutor James Neary told magistrates in Prestatyn.

"He was using his left hand to hold the saucepan and in his right hand had a fork."

Last night Veens, 30, who is from the Netherlands, was beginning an eight-week prison sentence after he was convicted of dangerous driving.

He had been delivering chicken carcasses from Llangefni to Nottingham on the day in question.

Before he set out on the 150-mile cross-country journey, he heated up his pan of spaghetti and put it in his driving cab. As he drove down the A55 he opened the pan and began to eat.

Mr Neary said it was clear to observers in the helicopter that Veens was steering the lorry with his knees and police were alerted on the ground.

Stephen Barnfield, defending, said Veens who drives for a logistics firm based at Blakenham, near Ipswich, but lives for most of the time in Holland, accepted it had been "an outstandingly stupid thing to do".

But Mr Barnfield added: "Despite his truly unusual method of steering he knew the road well and his vehicle very well indeed.

"Only on clear open stretches did he eat his food, when he thought it was safe to do so."

Magistrate David Harrison said : "It was a very, very serious offence on a very busy trunk road.

"Your erratic driving was far below the standard expected and required of a man driving such a vehicle. There was a serious risk to road users."

He said it was fortunate that no harm had been caused.

Veens was travelling below the speed limit for the dual carriageway of 60mph for a heavy good vehicle.

The Dutchman, who has been driving lorries for 12 years - including six and a half years for his present employers - and had a good driving record, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was banned from driving for a year.

He must take an extended test before driving a heavy goods vehicle again.

Last week a 45-year-old blind man was caught drink-driving.

Peter Tassi of Nottingham, who also has four previous convictions for driving while disqualified and last year received a ten-year motoring ban, was ordered to attend a rehabilitation clinic and his sentence has been deferred for six months.