Police officer fined for dangerously parking speed camera van over pavement and cycle lane

The van forced pedestrians and cyclists to cross a busy road at peak commuter time

The officer who parked the van has recieved a fixed penalty fine (Loop Images/UIG via Getty Images)

The driver of a police speed camera van found themselves on the other side of the law after a member of the public spotted their dangerous parking on a busy road.

The Mercedes van was caught in the hazardous spot in Longlevens, Gloucestershire, as it monitored traffic travelling down Cheltenham Road .

Jamie Leon Britton, a Longlevens resident, took a picture of the van’s inappropriate parking place, which obstructed both the pavement and a cycle lane.

Police mobile cam unit gets fixed penalty for parking over a cycle lane - nice to see fairness applied here

Posted by Gloucestershire Echo on Sunday, 8 November 2015

Mr Britton said he was “stunned” at how poorly the police vehicle was parked, forcing pedestrians and cyclists to cross the busy road at peak commuter time, according to the Gloucestershire Citizen.

The officer who parked the van has received a fixed penalty fine, the Gloucestershire Echo reports.

A Freedom of Information act has also recently revealed the officer has been given “management advice” by the Gloucestershire Constabulary.

The van was attempting to catch speeding drivers as they headed towards Gloucester at 9am earlier this year. Drivers caught by the van would usually be issued a £60 fine and receive three points on their license.

Robert Vestey, of the Camera Enforcement Unit at Gloucestershire Constabulary, said: “We do not condone such actions and we hope that the fixed penalty notice and management advice shows that this has been taken seriously.”

“A member of the police workforce is not exempt from following road and parking rules, which is why the individual has been treated as any member of the public would be.”

Tactics to tackle speeding have often been a point of contention. Earlier this year police admitted to hiding speed cameras in farm vehicles despite government advice saying mobile speed cameras should be “clearly identifiable as an enforcement vehicle.”

Humberside Police said it hid officers with speed cameras in tractors and horseboxes in an attempt to catch speeding bikers on a rural road that had been the site of a high number of casualties.