‘My beloved Alsatian went missing so I launched a desperate search for her – but jobsworth police pulled me over and fined me £200 for not wearing a seatbelt’
- A dog owner felt ‘sick with worry’ as he searched in his van for his missing dog
- Sonny Chambers, 31, was frantically searching for the pup and was pulled over
- Rubbing salt in the wound, the police fined him £200 for not wearing a seatbelt
A ‘devastated’ dog owner was fined £200 by ‘jobsworth cops’ for not wearing his seatbelt while peering out of his van window as he desperately looked for his missing beloved pet.
Sonny Chambers claims he was ‘sick to his stomach’ with worry and was frantically searching for greyhound Alsatian cross Penny on July 30th when he was pulled over by police.
The 31-year-old admits that he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt while shining a torch outside of his vehicle so he could look for the three-year-old rescue mutt.
Carpenter Sonny says it ‘rubbed salt in the wound’ when police fined him £200 despite explaining that his beloved pet had gone missing earlier that day.
Sonny Chambers, 31, felt ‘sick to his stomach’ while frantically searching for his beloved pet Penny, who went missing last month
To make matters worse, the carpenter from Portsmouth was slapped with a £200 fine for not wearing his seatbelt while peering out the window looking for the pup
Sonny admitted he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt while shining a torch outside of his vehicle so he could look for the three-year-old rescue mutt and was pulled over by police
Sonny had left Penny with a friend while he was away for the weekend and she escaped through their kitchen window.
Ex partner Katherine Jones, 29, who shares custody of Penny, says the pair were ‘heartbroken’.
The couple say they searched for Penny every night and a relieved Sonny found her on the same road he received the fine four days later.
Sonny, from Portsmouth, said: ‘I was in Nottingham for the weekend and I left Penny with a friend.
‘As soon as I found out she was missing I drove straight home. I was sick to my stomach. I couldn’t talk. It was a four-hour drive.
‘The minute I pulled up, I went out looking for her and shone my torch out of the window.
‘The police pulled me over and asked what I was doing so I explained what happened and they fined me £200.
‘I was fuming. When me and Katherine split up, Penny pulled me through. She sleeps next to me every night.
‘I found her at the top of the hill where I was fined. We’ve got her back. She’s alright. We’re so relieved.’
Sonny shares the beloved pet with his ex-partner Katherine Jones, 29. The pair were ‘heartbroken’ when she went missing
Sonny had left Penny with a friend while he was away for the weekend and she escaped through their kitchen window. He drove straight home to look for her
The couple say they searched for Penny every night and a relieved Sonny found her on the same road he received the fine four days later
Social value advisor Katherine believes the fine was ‘harsh’ under the circumstances and ‘tipped Sonny over the edge’.
Katherine said: ‘It was late at night and it was dark.
‘He was driving along shining a torch in the hope of seeing her and got pulled over and given a fine. It was for shining the torch and not wearing a seatbelt.
‘He explained what he was doing but they were more bothered about being given a fine and being on their way.
‘I do appreciate why they did it but given the circumstances a certain leeway should be awarded because it’s not a regular occurrence.
‘It’s quite harsh. They could have advised him to put the seatbelt on or pull over and search but they were bothered about giving him a fine than advice.
‘We were devastated about losing our dog and it tipped Sonny over the edge. We were in a state of panic trying to find her and it rubbed salt in the wounds.’
Katherine says the pair went out searching for their beloved dog every night while she was missing and even used drones to look for her.
A social value advisor has said she thinks the fine was ‘harsh’ under the circumstances, but after the couple posted the ordeal to a community Facebook group, some were divided
Nonetheless, the community pulled together to look for Penny and many went out to search themselves
Luckily, Penny is home safe and sound after a frantic four-day search which involved quad bikes and drones, according to Sonny
Katherine said: ‘I was devastated when I realised she was gone. It’s like losing a family member. We were in a state of panic.
‘The community is incredible. People were sharing her on social media, people went out looking, farmers went out on quad bikes and drones went up looking for her.’
When someone shared Sonny’s ordeal on Facebook, users were divided on whether the police were right to issue the ticket.
One branded the officers ‘jobsworths’ while another pointed out that ‘when people report true crimes you hardly see officers for dust’ and said ‘shame on them for stooping so low’.
However others pointed out the police were simply enforcing the law.
Hampshire Police said that the law around seatbelt use is ‘clear on the need to wear them’ and there are only limited exemptions to this.
When can I not wear a seatbelt?
According to the Government website, you do not need to wear a seat belt if you’re:
- a driver who is reversing, or supervising a learner driver who is reversing
- in a vehicle being used for police, fire and rescue services
- a passenger in a trade vehicle and you’re investigating a fault
- driving a goods vehicle on deliveries that is travelling no more than 50 metres between stops
- a licensed taxi driver who is looking for customers either by being hailed in the street or by waiting at a taxi rank (known as ‘plying for hire’)
- a licensed taxi driver or a driver of a private hire vehicle who is carrying passengers
Private hire vehicles include minicabs, chauffeur services or limousines.
Source: Read Full Article