A policeman must not have foreseen the number of Facebook comments he would inspire – puns and all – when he specifically fined a man for eating a sausage roll while driving.

A photo of the ticket went viral and generated a flood of double entendres, although many of the comments praised the policeman for taking action.

Paul Vella, 50, was given the spot fine yesterday but many found the specific reference to the sausage roll hilarious.

Mr Vella, a salesman who spends most of his time on the road, showed the traffic ticket to his daughter Pearl, who uploaded the picture to Facebook and it went viral.

Speaking to Times of Malta yesterday, Mr Vella said he had a full day of meetings and was unable to stop for lunch when he bought the sausage roll from Luqa.

He placed it on the seat next to him and began driving to his next appointment in Bay Street, but on Regional Road he realised it would get cold by the time he arrived at the meeting and left, so he took a bite.

At that point, some 200 metres before the roundabout near the University, a policeman appeared at the side of his car and pulled him over.

The officer informed him he should not have been eating while driving.

Mr Vella said he will be paying the fine as he respected authority and admitted that eating could indeed distract a driver – but so could speaking to passengers, he pointed out.

The fact the ticket was so specific was funny as it was an “only in Malta moment” he joked.