Police stop two people in Poringland - to find out they are playing Pokémon Go

Policing minister says concentrating while you drive is common sense. Photo: PA (Image: PA)

The augmented reality game involves finding virtual Pokémon characters in different real locations and has become hugely popular in the region and across the world.

Sergeant Chris Harris from Norfolk's Roads Policing and Firearms Operations Unit was on a patrol in the village when he saw them sitting in the shadows on the side of the road, playing on their phones. Sgt Harris said he didn't think anything of it at first until he saw them again later on.

'The patrol then led us back to the same place a little later but they had since moved further along the road but were still in the shadows,' he said. 'We decided to get out of the car and have a chat with them as it could have been classed as behaving suspiciously but we soon found out they were just playing Pokémon Go.

'Being into technology and social media I knew about the game, but I am not a player, so I spoke to them about how it works and how they play it. It was quite amusing that they were out on a midnight stroll catching Pokémon.'

Sgt Harris also stumbled across more players in Norwich on Sunday night when he discovered that Cafe Britannia on Mousehold Heath is a 'Pokestop'- a location where players have to visit to get certain items they need to play the game.

But Sgt Harris did highlight a number of things that people need to be aware of when playing the game.

He said: 'There are a number of safety messages that people should be aware of.

'If you are out late playing on your phone and you are young you should have an adult with you and be very careful about where you go.

'You should not play it whilst driving as it is an offence to use a handheld device when driving and is one of the fatal four causes of serious injury or death on our roads

'And be careful when crossing the roads when playing, it may sound silly but people are doing it and not checking.'