Marathon runner carrying fridge mistaken for burglar
A LONDON Marathon runner who is training with a fridge on his back was stopped by police who thought he may have stolen the appliance.
Daniel Fairbrother said he was on an early run in Stevenage when officers turned on their patrol car’s blue flashing lights and halted traffic before speaking to him.
The 34-year-old said the confusion was soon cleared up after he explained his challenge.
The police officers from Hertfordshire Constabulary shook his hand and wished him luck before leaving.
Mr Fairbrother is running with a fridge strapped to his back to raise £10,000 for Diabetes UK to support his friend who lives with the condition.
Naming the appliance “Tallulah”, after the bobsleigh in the 1994 film Cool Runnings, Mr Fairbrother said he was only on his second training run when he was stopped by police.
“They put their blue lights on, held up the traffic and stopped me to find out what on earth was going on.
Understandably they had not seen anything like it before,” he told the BBC. “One police officer wound down his window and said: ‘You understand we’ve got to stop you, is that a fridge on your back?’”.
After explaining the purpose of the stunt, Mr Fairbrother said the officer joked: “You do know if you order from Currys, they will deliver it for you?”.
“I would expect the police to do their job and check on someone running about with a fridge. If I got pulled over another 10 times I wouldn’t be annoyed,” he added.
Speaking to The Comet newspaper, Mr Fairbrother said he decided to run with a fridge because he felt simply running the marathon was not an achievement capable of attracting wider support.
“I saw this marine who had run a marathon with a fridge on his back. So I said, ‘I’ll apply for a spot in the marathon, if I get it I’ll run it with a fridge’.
“I think everyone just thought I was a bit mad at the time.
“What’s the last thing you want to run with on your back? Well, most probably a fridge. It’s not comfortable, it’s an awkward size, it’s heavy.”
A spokesman for Hertfordshire Constabulary said: “We would like to wish Daniel all the best with training for the marathon”.