Pensioner who owed £130 for a petty traffic offence is tracked to his house 200 miles away a year later by bailiffs who try to take his CAR... then police threaten to arrest him when he objects
- Stuart Robertson was caught on CCTV in north London in March 2015
- The 69-year-old had strayed into a lane reserved for emergency vehicles
- Mr Robertson appealed to Islington Council over the £130 he was issue
- Man from mid-Wales said he did not hear from the council for 11 months
Stuart Robertson, 69, owed £130 for a minor traffic but assumed he had been let off when he didn't hear from the council in 11 months
A pensioner who owed £130 for a minor traffic offence was tracked down a year later to his remote farmhouse more than 200 miles away.
Stuart Robertson, 69, was caught on CCTV straying into a lane reserved for emergency vehicles in Islington, north London, last March.
The retired gas engineer appealed to the local council, explaining that his driving had been safe. Having not heard from them after 11 months, he assumed they had let him off.
So he was astonished when he came home to find two bailiffs trying to remove his car, pick-up truck and trailer.
After he demanded to know what they were doing, three police officers turned up with flashing blue lights and threatened to arrest him if he did not pay a £500 fine or let the bailiffs take his vehicles. They said the fine had gone up almost four-fold because of the cost of sending bailiffs round.
They also confiscated his two shotguns, claiming he was drunk and breaching the peace.
Mr Robertson, who lives by Lake Vyrnwy in Powys, mid-Wales, 21 miles from the nearest town, paid the fine, but said it was ‘ridiculous’ that the officers had been sent to his home over such a petty offence.
He added: ‘I said to the police, “What are you doing here?”, and they said the bailiffs had called them.
‘Because I didn’t tell the bailiffs who I was this was a breach of the peace. God help us if you have a murder – they never show up for that.’
The episode began last year when Mr Robertson went to Islington for work. Driving down a road that had a width restriction, he used a central lane provided for fire engines.
A year after the offence he was tracked down to his remote farmhouse more than 200 miles away by Lake Vyrnwy in Wales
Three police officers turned up with flashing blue lights and threatened to arrest him if he did not pay a £500 fine or let the bailiffs take his vehicles
Although he says there was no other traffic and he was driving at the 20mph speed limit, he was snapped by a camera.
Mr Robertson appealed against the fine, explaining that he had been driving safely. Almost a year on, he claims he heard nothing more from Islington council, although officials insist they wrote to him three times to say his appeal had been rejected.
Islington Council said that after Mr Robertson was fined in March, his appeal was rejected in May and a letter was sent telling him to pay £130.
Mr Robertson paid the fine, but said it was ‘ridiculous’ that the officers had been sent to his home over such a petty offence
A spokesman said the council wrote again on July 1, 2015, and on January 19, 2016, adding: ‘No payment was made, and ultimately this was referred to a debt collection agency.’
Chief Inspector Matt Scrase said police were forced to take part in the operation because the enforcement officer, or bailiff, was concerned that the situation could get out of hand.
He said that when they turned up, they found Mr Robertson drunk, hiding in a bush, adding: ‘An officer was assigned for this purpose and others working nearby went to assist. Mr Robertson was very intoxicated.
‘Mr Robertson was obstructing the enforcement officer – this is an offence for which he could be reported for summons.’
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