Wiltshire Police have defended using a convoy of patrol cars to escort a mobility scooter being ridden by a police community support officer.

The buggy was being driven to a police station in Salisbury following the arrest of a man on suspicion of theft and assault.

A PCSO was deployed to ride the mobility scooter to the station while under escort by two marked patrol cars.

A passenger in a passing car filmed the scene and the footage was later posted on the internet.

The 23-second clip entitled "Wiltshire Police - Mobility scooter convoy Awkward" was posted on the liveleak website.

The film was recorded on Saturday night and shows a PCSO riding the mobility scooter along a cycle path accompanied by an escort.

Both patrol cars can be seen driving at low speed with the buggy between them.

As the convoy is overtaken, laughter can be heard coming from the car containing the person filming.

Wiltshire Police posted a link to the video clip on the force's Facebook page.

A force spokesman said: "Wiltshire Police needed to move the mobility scooter to a safe location following the arrest of a man on suspicion of theft and assault.

"This was the quickest and safest way to do this."