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Driver accused of using mobile phone while driving proves police wrong
Page 24
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A DRIVER who challenged three police officers to prove he had used a mobile phone while driving has won his case and £2,600 in costs. The case revealed mistakes in the way the police handled the evidence. Anthony Jones's tachograph chart and mobile phone records helped clear him of the alleged offence of using his phone while driving his skip lorry Jones, of Denton. Manchester, who had refused to accept a fixed penalty notice, pleaded not guilty to the offence at Tameside Magistrates' Court. The court was told Jones's vehicle had been stopped by police in Ashton-under-Lyne centre last May. Three police officers, Police Constables Scott Kerr, Mark Wood and Darren Ankers, claimed they had seen Jones holding something to his ear, but said they could not be sure it was a mobile phone.
Magistrates were told the officers failed to pass the seized mobile phone on to Greater Manchester Police data experts and as a result the prosecution had to rely on their recollections. Under guidelines, police officers should hand mobile phones over for analysis to see if a call was made at the time the driver was stopped.
Carl Millar, defending, said the prosecution had to prove without any doubt that Jones was using his phone at the time. Records from Jones's mobile phone provider showed he was not using the phone at the time and his tachograph chart showed the lorry was stationary The magistrates ordered that Jones's defence costs of £2.600 be paid out of public funds.