A German lorry driver escaped a rap for driving while using a mobile phone - after claiming he was using it as an ear warmer.

A court in Hamm accepted Walter Klein's claims that he had been using the phone which was warm after being recharged to warm his ears.

It means he had not broken the law which says drivers can only make phone calls with a hands free set.

Klein, 43, told the court: "I had an earache and it was being made worse because the cab had not heated up yet - it takes a while on a big rig.

"So I grabbed the phone that had been on charge and put it to my ear, and that was when I was stopped by police."

The court accepted his claim after he produced an itemised telephone bill proving he had not been using the phone at the time he was stopped.