With Sound the alarm over selfie harm

SMARTPHONES mean we can take incredible photos in a flash.

But clicking away on your mobile can land you in a load of trouble with the law. Here is how. PHOTOGRAPHING AN ACCIDENT One reader, Desmond, took a photo of a car crash on a motorway. He was stuck in traffic behind the chaos at the time.

Little did he know, the police were taking down number plates of all those drivers who took snaps while behind the wheel.

A few weeks later, Desmond received a notice of intended prosecution for driving without due care and attention. PHOTOGRAPHING A POTHOLE Ashley, another reader, burst his car tyre after driving straight into a pothole.

This was the second time this happened t o him and he remembered the previous advice of taking pictures and drawing a plan of the scene.

So he pulled over and jumped out with his phone to photograph the pothole.

As he stepped into the road to snap away at the pothole, a police car passed on the opposite side and then turned around and pulled up next to him.

Ashley was then told very sternly that it was illegal to stand in a road and take a picture as he could cause an accident. They let him off with a warning but this annoyed Ashley enough for him to contact me to ask if it really is illegal.

My view is that it is not in itself unlawful, but you still need to be careful and responsible. PHOTOGRAPHING IN PUBLIC Another reader, Lisa, went for lunch with two of her friends at a local restaurant.

The meal was a complete disaster so Lisa took a picture of the food and posted it on social

Amedia. She also sent a letter of complaint to the restaurant.

The response she got from them shocked her.

It was from a solicitor, claiming the owner’s seven- year- old daughter was included in the background of the photos she had posted online.

They said this was in violation of her privacy and was illegal.

See more advice from Dean on theconsumerlawyer.blog.