Cops patrolling the A47 have learnt to expect the unexpected – so it was no surprise when they pulled over this shaky load.

The hapless driver and his load of branches – with ladders perched precariously on the top- were clearly not safe.

Police patrolling the A47 say they had no option but to stop the driver before the load became a threat to other road users.

“Came across this on the A47,” police tweeted. “Driver stopped, load sorted and driver reported.”

The incident on Friday was the second within a fortnight when police stopped an unsafe load on the same road.

Previously they stopped a lorry loaded over with 200 wooden pallets – the driver was even more of a risk since he hadn’t renewed his insurance.

“Vehicle seized,” tweeted the officer from the roads policing unit who had pulled it over.

Police did not reveal whether the owner of the Iveco lorry has found someone to reclaim it – or what happened to the pallets.

Nor, indeed, did they reveal who unloaded them.