Man says he was pulled over for laughing

LIVERPOOL, England, March 5 (UPI) -- A British motorist said he missed an important appointment when he was pulled over by a police officer for laughing behind the wheel.

Gary Saunders of Liverpool said he was talking to his brother-in-law on a hands-free phone and laughing at a joke when he saw a traffic officer flash police lights and signal for him to pull over, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.

Saunders said he was asked to get out of his car and the police officer said: "Laughing while driving a car can be an offense."

He said the officer questioned him for half an hour, making him miss an important meeting, before letting him continue driving.

"I couldn't believe it when he told me I'd been pulled over for laughing," he said. "I definitely wasn't speeding so I asked what the problem was and he told me I was laughing too much."

Saunders said the officer took up an additional half hour of his time by ordering him to take his driver's license and other documents to the police station.

"It went from ludicrous to unbelievable. He definitely had a bee in his bonnet about something and I got the brunt of it," he said. "In the end he reluctantly admitted that he had nothing he could accuse me of, but still required me to take my documents to the station."