A DRIVER who claimed laws do not apply to him because he is a ‘freeman of the land’ was arrested on Friday night on the A3 near Wisley for obstructing police.

The man, who has not been identified, caused quite a scene after being pulled over by a Surrey traffic officer for driving an uninsured vehicle and refusing to leave his car.

As a self-proclaimed 'freeman of the land' the man claimed not to recognise the UK legal system.

This was given short shrift by officers, however, who forcibly removed him from the vehicle and arrested him for obstruction.

The man was also later found to be in possession of an imitation firearm and class B drugs, and was remanded in custody prior to an appearance in court.

Surrey’s roads policing unit posted an account of the incident on Twitter: “The driver claimed to be a freeman of the land and not recognise our legal system.

“After locking himself in the car force was used to remove him and he was arrested for obstruction.

“During a search he was found to be in possession of an imitation firearm and some cannabis. He also refused to give a roadside saliva sample.”

Officers added that when interviewed at the police station, the ‘freeman’ maintained his stance that the legal system did not apply to him and was remanded to be taken to court "tomorrow".

Freemen of the land - also known as freemen on the land, the freemen movement or simply freemen - are a loose group of individuals who believe that they are bound by statute laws only if they consent to those laws.

They believe that they can therefore declare themselves independent of the government and the rule of law, holding that the only "true" law is their own interpretation of "common law".

Freemen are active in English-speaking countries the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, where the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) classifies freemen as sovereign citizen extremists and domestic terrorists.