A cocaine-fuelled driver pretended to be an NHS worker in a bid to explain why they were on the roads last night.
The bizarre incident unfolded when police stopped a vehicle in St Helens around midnight.
Attempting to explain why they were out at that time, the driver flashed an NHS identification card at officers, explaining their profession was why they were using the quietened lockdown roads.
The ID was fake, however.
And that was not the end of their problems.
Merseyside Police's Roads Policing Unit explained on Twitter: "Vehicle stopped in St Helens, driver produced an NHS card for reason to being out, the ID turned out to be fake, driver then tested positive for cocaine, and had two tyres with tread less than 1.6mm, currently on route to spend a night in a cell."
The driver was not the first to offer a dodgy excuse for being out despite heightened guidance around social distancing and restrictions on movement.
Cheshire Police has fined drivers found heading home from house parties and going for early-hour rides to solve boredom, while North Wales and Cumbria police forces have reported stopping people driving long distances to visit beauty spots in their areas.
