Speed camera set on fire in broad daylight by couple caught in the act on CCTV
Police are on the hunt for a pair of suspected arsonists after a speed camera was set alight in broad daylight.
Dramatic CCTV footage from the incident shows the moment the firestarting duo set the pole holding the camera ablaze, sending bright flames soaring into the sky.
Video – which has since gone viral online – of the shocking event shows the moment the pair of yobs cross over to the wrong side of the road to mount a grass verge under the pole.
A man can be seen mounting his car with a tyre in hand, which he then appears to throw on top of the speed camera before dousing the apparatus in some kind of flammable fluid.
Dramatic footage showed the moment the flames shot into air by the side of the A10
As traffic files past, the man then lights the pole on fire, as his female companion – standing in the road throughout the incident – watches on.
As the speed camera is engulfed in the blaze, the woman can be seen apparently recording the crime as passing cars swerve to avoid her.
Finally, the pair can be seen re-entering their vehicle and careering off into the road as other motorists are forced to avoid them.
Police later confirmed the “arson” took place on a stretch of the A10 at Setchey in Norfolk – but locals believe the speed camera hit job may not have been successful.
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The man could be seen affixing a tyre to the pole while his accomplice recorded the incident
One resident, who lives nearby the site of the incident, said: “They were quite brazen about it. But I don’t think they’ve put it out of action… They’ve only scorched the paint!”
And social media users chimed in to heap scorn on the pair of apparent arsonists; one said: “Not the sharpest tools in the toolbox. Nearly got run over and set their car and themselves on fire. Idiots!”
Another jabbed: “Oh my f***ing days… Some people! Broad daylight too!”
One more added: “They must be thick t***s as it’s a digital camera – if it got them, and they think they’re destroying evidence, they’re wrong! It automatically sends the evidence after taking the pic!”
A Norfolk Constabulary spokesman said: “Police were called to the A10 at Setchey, at 7.23am on Saturday 8 June, following reports of a man and a woman setting fire to a speed camera.
“Officers attended the scene, alongside the fire service. No one was injured.
“The incident is being treated as arson… Enquiries are ongoing.”