A dad 'celebrated' driving under the limit while going past a police speed van by sticking both his middle fingers up at the camera... only to be slapped with a fine for that instead.
Ben Baron is now crowdfunding to pay his fine, which occurred when driving to work on 5 December as he approached a known 'hotspot' in Clayton-le-Moors, Lancashire, where he had been flashed by a camera before.
The 44-year-old said: "It's a known hotspot where they put cameras. I knew I was under the limit because I'd been done there previously.
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"It's on the brow of a hill and as you come round the corner, you can see the van. I saw it and I was elated that I was under the speed limit.
"I carried on giving the guy the finger all the way past, smiling and laughing. I'm sure the guy took it a bit personally and rewound his tape to see what was going on.
"I knew I was being filmed flipping the finger, but I was celebrating being under the limit.
"I thought I was perfectly fine and it wasn't an issue, but clearly they've decided to make it personal as I had two hands off the wheel."
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Software developer Ben then carried on with his day, oblivious to the fact he had had instead been snapped 'not being in a position to have proper control' of the vehicle.
Ben claims he was 'in tears of laughter' after receiving the legal letter with a notice of intended prosecution in mid-January, with images showing him swearing while his passenger laughed along.
Now the van driver has launched a GoFundMe page to cover the fine - vowing to give any leftover money to charity.
Ben, from Great Harwood, Lancashire, continued: "It's a clear-cut case of me flipping the bird at them with both hands. It's a bit of kudos. It's so funny - I'm happy to pay the fine.
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"I did a celebratory double-flipping, two-handed, which is obviously now leading to the prosecution. I carried on doing it for quite a while - around 200 metres potentially. They've got good cameras.
"I think, looking on the internet, the maximum fine is £1,000 for that offence. I decided to launch a GoFundMe. Hopefully people with a sense of humour [will donate]. I'll pay the fine off then give the rest to charity if there's anything left."
For failing to be in proper control of a motor vehicle, offenders may receive three penalty points and a £100 fine if dealt with by way of a fixed penalty. The maximum penalty is a £1,000 fine.
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Ben said: "I knew I was being filmed flipping the finger, but I was celebrating being under the limit. I thought I was perfectly fine and it wasn't an issue, but clearly they've decided to make it personal as I had two hands off the wheel."
"I got the original notice of prosecution through about a month ago, but I replied to them saying they hadn't sent it in due course. They are supposed to serve it within 14 days. I sent it back, saying, 'It's outside the time and I'll appeal for this.'
"They then sent it back with the photos of me doing that, clearly, and telling me it was in the timeframe. I don't know how much the fine is yet as the van is under my limited company, so I need to send the letter back to say it's me driving."
The experienced driver claims he has been inundated with tips on how to appeal the fine by online well-wishers - but admits they didn't know the full story.
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Since he has freely admitted to the offence, he claims he won't appeal it, but hopes some contributions on his fundraising page maybe soften the financial blow.
Ben said: "I've been driving for 20 years. It was a quiet day on the roads since it's lockdown. I was just driving to the office.
"Online, I've had [funny replies] and people telling me how to appeal it, but I don't think they knew the full story. I can't necessarily appeal it. Realistically, I don't think I'll get away with it because I was doing it."
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media