Absolute Plank

[Craig]

Man jailed for speed camera blast

Craig Moore

Moore blew up the camera which flashed at him last August

A man who blew up a speed camera because he feared he would lose his licence after he was snapped speeding has been jailed for four months.

Craig Moore, 28, of Grampian Way in Thorne, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, admitted damaging property last month.

He used the chemical thermite, which he obtained from his welding job, to destroy the camera, which caught him driving in Hyde, Greater Manchester.

But the camera was a dummy which cannot be used to prosecute drivers.

Following on sentencing at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court, Tameside Council confirmed that Moore destroyed a Watchman camera - used to deter drivers from speeding by flashing.

The devices have smaller boxes than the usual Gatso speed cameras, do not emit such a bright flash, and also contain CCTV equipment which can be used to monitor street activity.

Stills from the speed camera blown up by Moore

Moore used chemicals from his welding job to destroy the camera

Moore's actions of blowing up the camera caused £11,700 of damage to the machine which had flashed at him while he was exceeding the speed limit on Mottram Road on 14 August last year.

Moore, who was a railway worker for Vital Rail, was in a work vehicle with a colleague.

He claimed he was afraid he would lose his job if he was caught speeding. He already had 10 points on his licence and thought he would receive a driving ban if more were added.

Later that night, he drove 40 miles back to the camera with a quantity of the chemically volatile substance Thermite, used by railway workers to weld tracks.

At 2345 BST later that night, the Watchman camera exploded.

Camera recording

A recording from the hard-drive of the camera showed the Ford Transit van approaching the camera.

As the vehicle was driven off, sparks were seen coming from the camera box and then it exploded.

Police checked the tracker device fitted to the van, which showed it had arrived in Hyde, stopped on Mottram Road and then returned to the Doncaster area, where it was parked outside Moore's home address.

Pc Mark Akers, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "Instead of just accepting that he had been caught travelling above the speed limit, Moore decided to blow the camera apart.

"He obviously thought that by destroying the main camera he was destroying all the evidence. But a combination of hard work and the latest technology led to his conviction."

Andrew Bailey, defending, said Moore knew adding extra speeding points to the 10 points he already had on his driving licence would mean he would lose it, and with it, his livelihood.

[Bert]

At least no one else would get caught by this camera, so at least he's done them a favour.

[Craig]

At least no one else would get caught by this camera, so at least he's done them a favour.

The point is, the camera wasn't one that prosecuted people anyway

[Thracian]

He might have cocked up. But at least he showed some spirit.

[lcfc_jme]

Guess he did what most other motorists feel like doing. Funny chap

[cisono]

I thought this thread was about a plank, the exercise...

[Daggers]

I loved this story - it has all three basic ingredients

1. Dumb guy to laugh at
   
2. Speed cam to hate
   
3. Thermite reaction to go 'ooooooooo' at
   

Gotta love that thermite reaction

[lookwhaticando]

I was expecting wood.