Police in traffic dodging ruse fear for careers

Andrew Robinson

TWO Yorkshire police sergeants are facing an uncertain career future after they were banned from driving for a year for reversing on a motorway to avoid a traffic jam.

West Yorkshire officers Shelton Newsham, 35, and Andrew Watson, 40, claimed they reversed on the motorway to assist other officers at the scene who were dealing with other motorists who had decided to reverse or perform U-turns to get away from the hold-up.

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But the officers’ version was rejected by magistrates after a trial.

The magistrates ruled that they were not acting in the course of their police duties when they reversed.

The incident happened on the afternoon of June 29, 2008, following a crash which was attended by the Yorkshire air ambulance.

The officers were each convicted earlier this month of dangerous driving and a charge of reversing on a motorway.

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The pair, who both live in Huddersfield, were in separate cars and on their way to work in Bradford when they reversed at 5mph for a short distance on a lane of a sliproad of the M606 near Chain Bar, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire.

Yesterday magistrates in Dewsbury said the offences were made worse because the sliproad was on a blind bend.

For dangerous driving, they received a 12-month driving ban, after which they must take an extended driving test. They were fined 770 each and told to pay 400 each in prosecution costs and a 15 victim surcharge.

No separate penalty was imposed for the offence of reversing on a motorway.

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At an earlier hearing, Kathryn Walsh, prosecuting, said the two officers both claimed they had reversed to assist other officers who were at the scene dealing with other motorists who had made the decision to reverse.

Miss Walsh said that both officers had failed to dial 999, they had not notified the police mobilising centre and both failed to produce their police identification cards.

Both men claimed they acted to prevent other people getting hurt.

At the sentencing hearing yesterday, their solicitor, Damian Kelly, said he was lodging an immediate appeal against the conviction and the sentence.

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He told the court that both men had exemplary characters and both had received commendations for previous actions by the police.

Neither has previous convictions or any driving endorsements, he said, and both needed their licences to get to and from work.

Mr Kelly said they faced the possibility of being sacked.

“Both have received misconduct notices from West Yorkshire Police. There is the potential, because of the nature of the offences, for both of them to lose their jobs.”

Mr Kerry urged magistrates to suspend the driving disqualification until the outcome of an appeal but this was rejected.

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Chairman of the bench Lynne Cliffe said reversing on a “live” motorway lane and on a blind bend were aggravating features.

She said both men had been driving at 5mph and only for a short distance, which were mitigating factors in the case.

Last night a police spokesman confirmed that an internal investigation was being carried out but declined to comment further.