The first person in the UK to be convicted of new road-hogging offences has received a £1,000 fine and 5 points on their license.

The individual refused to move his Citroen Berlingo out of the middle lane of the M62.

According to police six motorists had to brake and swerve in order to overtake the van. The incident took place on the east-bound carriageway on 25 August last year.

The Berlingo driver had a number of opportunities to move out of the way, Leeds Magistrates' Court heard.

He was accused of being "inconsiderate" and causing inconvenience to other drivers.

The accused did not appear in court but in his absence was ordered to pay nearly £1,000 in fines and costs. The sum also included a victim surcharge of £40.

In addition the driver received five penalty points on his license.

Laws criminalising road hogging and similar offences were introduced in 2013, but this is thought to be the first instance of the laws being used.

According to researchers, the UK could be losing up to a third of its motorway capacity due to 'road-hogging' – which can lead to congestion, traffic delays and a general inconvenience to other road users.

PC Nigel Fawcett-Jones from West Yorkshire Police's Road Policing Unit said: “It reduces the capacity of roads and motorways, and can lead to dangerous situations where other drivers 'tailgate' the vehicle in front to try and get the lane hogger to move over.

“Members of the public regularly tell the Road Policing Unit that lane hogging and tailgating are real problems on our roads and this conviction shows that the police and the courts understand the public's concerns and take this offence seriously.”