Northampton driver pays £1,200 after parking his van in front of police speed camera

A Northampton driver who scooted off laughing after parking his van in front of a speed camera to block its view has been hit with a £1,200 court bill.

Gavin Lynch plonked the vehicle directly behind the Northamptonshire Police enforcement van on the A5 in Weedon.

The 34-year-old, of St Peters Way, filmed himself walking off laughing and shared the video on a private Facebook group page, boasting about his actions.

Lynch returned to his vehicle 45 minutes later and moved it even closer to the police van before getting an electric scooter from the rear of his vehicle and riding off.

But when he returned for a second time, his van was in the process of being seized — and he was arrested for obstruction, riding the scooter on a footpath and with no insurance.

Lynch later told police he could not start his van after filling up with fuel so pushed it behind the police vehicle while he went to replace his key fob battery.

He also stated his electric scooter had to be manually operated – neither of which was corroborated by CCTV evidence.

Lynch was charged with two counts of obstructing Northamptonshire Police staff in the execution of their duty, riding a motor vehicle with no insurance and riding a motor vehicle on a footpath.

He pleaded guilty at Northampton Magistrates’ Court earlier this month and was fined £1,000 and received six penalty points on his driving licence. He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £100 victim surcharge – this was on top of the £150 to release his vehicle.

Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Operations Manager, Matthew O’Connell, said: “The parking location for the van was chosen as the only suitable and safe place to park with a clear and unobstructed view of the road.

“The mobile enforcement team are designated officers acting under the instruction of the Chief Constable, providing enforcement at locations with either a history of collisions or non-compliance as identified by speed data collection.

“I hope this court result acts as a warning to others who might wish to copy this behaviour, that we will not tolerate anyone who wilfully obstructs our officers.”

Northamptonshire Police enforcement vans operate at around 170 locations county-wide identifying speeding and other driving offences — such as not wearing a seatbelt and using mobile phones

The A5 was identified as a mobile van enforcement site in July last year following complaints from residents concerned about traffic noise and speeding vehicles.

A seven-day traffic survey was carried out by the Force which found that a high proportion of drivers were exceeding the 30mph limit. A temporary flashing VAS sign was initially installed to remind drivers of the speed limit which has been followed up with visits from the mobile enforcement team.