Romeo Beckham fined after being caught using phone while driving

Romeo Beckham has been fined after police caught him using his mobile phone while driving in central London.

The 23-year-old was handed a fine and penalty points after officers spotted him scrolling on his phone while behind the wheel of his Porsche 911.

The incident took place in Westminster in September last year, when Romeo - the son of football legend David Beckham and former Spice Girls star Victoria Beckham - was stopped by police at a set of traffic lights.

According to court documents, an unnamed woman was sitting in the passenger seat with an "unrestrained" dog on her lap.

Meanwhile, in a statement obtained by PA, an officer alleged that Romeo appeared "distracted" behind the wheel of the luxury sports car.

"As I passed the vehicle on its nearside, I looked down to my right and noted that there was an unrestrained dog sitting on the female passenger's lap," the officer wrote in the statement. "The female had her head down and was holding a mobile phone.

"I looked across at the driver. I saw that he too had his head tilted down and appeared to be looking down at a mobile phone he was holding low in his lap, near the base of the steering wheel.

"I could see that he was scrolling on the device with his thumbs."

The officer added that after stopping Romeo, he offered him "words of advice concerning the insecure load, namely the dog".

The model has since been convicted of being a driver not in a position to have proper control of a vehicle following a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court. He was fined $590 (£440) and given three penalty points on his driving licence.

Romeo was also ordered to pay $174 (£130) in costs and a $236 (£176) victim surcharge.

According to police, he was offered a fixed penalty and a driver awareness course, but after failing to respond, he was prosecuted under the single justice procedure.

The court heard that Romeo did not enter a plea to the charge and was convicted on the basis of the police evidence.