Furious driver storms out car and slashes speed camera van’s tyre …
A shocking video has captured the moment a furious driver slashed a speed camera van's tyre on a busy dual carriageway.
Footage of the incident, which occurred at around 5pm on April 9, shows the bloke storming out of his car and slashing the vehicles front tyre while it was parked next to the A4106 near Porthcawl.
Images from a CCTV camera in a GoSafe van show a black A200D Mercedes pulling over to the curb on the busy road.
The bloke, later identified as Charles Richards, was seen donning a red and black chequered top and greyish trousers, as he got out of his car, armed with what appears to be a yellow utility knife.[2]
Charles Richards vandalised the GoSafe vehicle in a bizarre 30-second stop next to the A4106 near Porthcawl
He then walked towards the police van, where he proceeded to slash one of the vehicle's front tyres, Wales Online[3] reports.
Afterwards, he returned to his car and calmly drove off, as if nothing untoward had happened.
A passenger in the black Mercedes[4] appears to be recording the incident on their mobile phone.
A spokesman for road safety partnership GoSafe said: "At approximately 4.45pm on Sunday, April 9, Richards was travelling along the A4106 near Porthcawl when he pulled in front of a GoSafe van and came to a stop.
"He exited his car on the dual carriageway and was seen walking towards the van with what appeared to be a yellow utility knife.
The bloke slashed the speed camera van's front tyres (Image: Ian Cooper/North Wales Live)
"He slashed the front tyre of the GoSafe van before promptly returning to his car and driving away."
The 38-year-old, of Attlee Road in Nantyglo, was later arrested and charged with causing criminal damage[5] to a police[6] vehicle.
He was found guilty at Cardiff Magistrates' Court[7] and ordered to pay a £1,066 fine, £426 victim services surcharge, £85 in prosecution costs, and £43 in compensation.
Porthcawl is a town and community on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, 25 miles west of the capital city, Cardiff and 19 miles southeast of Swansea.
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References
- ^ Met Office warns 'thunderstorms' could rock UK during upcoming mini-heatwave (www.dailystar.co.uk)
- ^ utility knife. (www.dailystar.co.uk)
- ^ Wales Online (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ black Mercedes (www.dailystar.co.uk)
- ^ criminal damage (www.dailystar.co.uk)
- ^ police (www.dailystar.co.uk)
- ^ Cardiff Magistrates' Court (www.dailystar.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.dailystar.co.uk)