text: A workman caught hanging out the door of a van travelling at 85mph down the motorway says he was only doing it because he needed some fresh air. The man, wearing an orange high-vis jacket, could be seen leaning out the sliding door of the black Vauxhall Vivaro van as it hurtled down the outside lane of the M40 near Oxford. He appeared to be laughing and making jokes with his colleagues inside the KJ Rail van as he hung his body - and even a leg - out of the vehicle. Today his boss, who has called the man in for a disciplinary hearing, revealed that the man claims he was only leaning out of the door because he wasn't feeling unwell and needed some fresh air. These shocking pictures show a workman hanging out of the door of a van as it speeds down the M40 . The man can be seen leaning out the side door of the black Vauxhall Vivaro van as it hurtled down the outside lane of the motorway . The incident, which police are investigating, is believed to have gone on for five minutes as the man pulled off the 'stunt' just yards from lorries. Dave Roy, a director at KJ Rail, said the man, the driver and their colleagues in the van would be hauled before a disciplinary hearing tomorrow morning. 'We're taking a robust approach to this and all of them will be in for a full disciplinary meeting first thing tomorrow,' he said. 'He's told me he was leaning out the door for some fresh air because he was feeling unwell and the next services were miles away. Having seen the pictures I'm not so sure. 'KJ Rail does not condone this sort of behaviour and takes a firm stance against it.' Mr Roy said the man could face the sack for the incident, which was captured by dentist James Hobkirk as he made his way down the M40, travelling south from Manchester to Kent. 'My wife was driving and she spotted something strange in the rear view mirror,' Mr Hobkirk, 37, said. He appeared to be laughing and making jokes with his colleagues inside the KJ Rail van as he hung his body - and even a leg - out of the vehicle . The incident, which police are investigating, went on for five minutes, as the man pulled off the 'stunt' just yards from lorries . 'I turned around and there was this guy in the outside lane hanging out of the van, saluting people as he went past. 'We were travelling about 65 in the middle lane and he came flying up behind us. He must have been doing about 80, 85. 'He was just hanging out the side door for about five minutes. He's obviously a complete nut job. 'People were moving in to the middle lane to get out of the way. It's like he was surfing. 'There were about four people in the back of the van and two in the front. They were all laughing. 'It's not just dangerous, he was an idiot. Going high speed in the outside lane and doing that is crazy.' KJ Rail, which owns the van, said it was investigating and that the man was likely to be punished . Thames Valley Police are also investigating the incident, which took place on Friday afternoon. A spokesman said: 'Thames Valley Police received a report of a man hanging out of a side door of a vehicle while travelling on the M40 motorway between junctions 9 and 8a southbound on Friday at 1.15pm. 'Officers attended the scene and carried out an area search however the vehicle was not located. Enquiries are ongoing to trace the occupants of the vehicle.' Philip Goose, senior community engagement officer at Brake, the road safety charity, said: 'Driving is the most dangerous thing we do on a daily basis. 'It is worth remembering that five people die every day on roads in the UK, and being in charge of a heavy, fast moving object has the potential to, and regularly does, kill and seriously injure individuals and tears apart families. 'Driving deserves our full attention, and irresponsible behaviour such as this and driving at excessive speed greatly increases the chance of being involved in a fatal or life-changing crash.'
target: Man seen leaning out of sliding door of work van in middle of motorway .
  He appeared to be laughing as he dangled leg outside of the KJ Rail van .
  His boss says man claims he was getting some 'fresh air' as he was unwell .
  Police and employers are investigating and man could face the sack .