A driver was caught with more than £85,000 worth of unpaid fines when he was pulled over by police as part of a routine stop in Barnet.

The Metropolitan Police say the total is believed to be the largest set of penalties ever collected by one vehicle in London and possibly the country.

The Mercedes van was flagged up to officers during an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) operation in The Hyde, Colindale, on September 4.

Police pulled the vehicle to the side of the road and database searches revealed it was subject to a staggering 56 outstanding warrants.

The majority of the offences were breaches of London emissions policies enforced by Transport for London.

In total, the warrants had accumulated fines amounting to £85,000.

Threatened with seizure of the van, the driver, a man in his 30s, agreed to pay £4,500 on the spot and negotiated an agreement with court enforcement officers at the scene to pay the rest of the fines in instalments.

The driver was not arrested and his van was subsequently not seized.