Police caught a driver in a “death trap” van with “no working back brakes” off the A1(M) in Cambridgeshire just before the weekend.

Officers stopped the large green van, thought to be a Mercedes Sprinter, and escorted it to a weighbridge off the main road on Friday (May 6).

Located at Sawtry near Huntingdon, officers used the weighbridge to discover it was overweight by more than 50 per cent, 62 per cent on the back axle.

Horrified officers from the Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire Roads Policing Unit also uncovered the van’s lack of working back brakes.

It was seized and the driver was reported for motoring offences.

“Death trap! Well done for catching him,” said one resident on social media.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police said: “It was a double whammy for the driver of this van which was escorted to the weighbridge at Sawtry on Friday.

“Not only was the van found to be overweight by 54 percent on its gross weight and 62 percent on the back axle, it also was found to have no working back brakes.

“Vehicle seized and driver reported.”