Harry fined for speeding in city - while he was in Spain on hols
THE NOTICE OF PROSECUTION DESPITE NOT BEING IN UK WHEN ‘CAUGHT’ - WAITING AT HIS HOME
A MAN returned from holiday in Spain to find he’d been given a speeding ticket by Leicestershire Police - even though he was out of the country at the time he was allegedly caught.
Harry Wiseman, from Hampshire, had been at his apartment in La Tercia, Spain, for three weeks before he arrived home on Tuesday, October 5 to find a notice of intended prosecution letter from Leicestershire Police.
The Fareham resident said he was left “baffled” over how he could have received the ticket as Leicester is more than 200 miles away from his home and he wasn’t even in the country at the time he was said to be caught speeding.
He said: “The offence was dated September 12 - which couldn’t be right as my wife and I caught the ferry on September 1.
“I briefly checked our post, as you can imagine we had a lot to sift through. But something about the wording on the envelope made me think this one looked important.”
Mr Wiseman was given 28 days to provide information to the police or would be facing a fine, six penalty points or be disqualified from driving.
He said: “Being in Spain, I already had 24 of the 28 days and coming home at 11.30pm to find this all was very distressing.
“It came across very threatening. The letter even said they had video evidence and pictures, which was impossible as I wasn’t there.
“My concern is this, this is obviously a mistake and there’s no provision for me in this particular case to say it wasn’t me.
“I live a long way from Leicester and I’ve never been in my life.”
Jonathan Clarkson, spokesman for the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Road Safety Partnership, which oversees speed cameras in the county, said the fine was an “administrative error”.
He said: “We have checked our records and in this instance we have discovered an administrative error on our part.
“Mr Wiseman has contacted us directly and we will be replying to him and offering our apologies for any distress caused while assuring him that no further action will be taken.
“As our local traffic volumes return to pre-pandemic levels the Road Safety Unit at Leicestershire Police is currently dealing with very high volumes of speeding and red traffic light offences. However, we are committed to keeping the roads of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland safe for everyone.”
But Mr Wiseman said the apology was “simply not good enough.”
He said: “My wife was ill on the boat, there was a customs delay and it was just a catalogue of catastrophes.
“And then low and behold I come home to this. It’s just not adequate. Something needs to be put in place to check evidence before sending prosecution notice. Telling me that the evidence was an error is simply not good enough.”