A Russian driver was fined for decorating his car with colourful festive Christmas lights.

Vladislav Ivanov, 25, was penalised when a traffic officer spotted his grey Toyota Vios in Pattaya, Thailand, on December 17.

Footage shows the vehicle adorned with holiday decorations, with red, blue, green, and orange lights flashing around the car.

Ivanov appeared confused when Police Captain Chayapol Yurod flagged him down while patrolling around 6 pm on the city's Sukhumvit Road.

Yurod explained that installing colourful lights on a car was illegal and fined him 500 Baht (11.44 GBP).

Ivanov explained that he wanted to celebrate Christmas and New Year and had seen other cars in Bangkok with similar decorations, believing it was legal.

He said: 'I am a Christian and I believe in Christmas. I wanted to make other people happy with the lights.'

Officers said that Vladislav would still be fined.

Police Captain Chayapol policeman said: 'Decorating a car for fashion or festival reasons, such as putting on reindeer antlers or colourful lights, might cause confusion for other commuters and make your vehicle's lights unclear.'

The authorities added that such decorations could result in a fine of up to 2,000 Baht (45.77 GBP).

The Vios then drove off, with the dazzling lights turned off as the video clip ended.

(1 Baht = 0.023 GBP)