Hold on to your mattress

Police have condemned a driver who balanced a mattress on top of his car and then held on to it as he drove along a busy motorway.

His passenger was also spotted grabbing on to the mattress as the Citroen Xsara headed north towards Gloucester along the M5 near Bristol on Monday morning.

An Avon and Somerset Police spokesman said the action was very dangerous.

"If an item was not properly secured we would stop the vehicle and take appropriate action," he said.

Paul Waller, of Rugby, a passenger in a nearby car who took a picture of the rooftop mattress, said: "It was catching the wind and looked very dangerous, so we didn't stay behind it for long. It could have caused an accident - the car was travelling at more than 40mph."