Boy Racer

‘“NAME?” demands the traffic cop. The yoof in his convertible says nothing. The engine of his red vehicle idles menacingly. He doesn’t budge.

To save the police from wasting any more of their valuable time, the Express chimes in. The boy racer goes by the name of Oliver Smith. He lives in Leyland, Lancashire. He’s aged 22 months. He has no previous convictions.

But every master criminal starts somewhere, and Smith has been nabbed driving along the pavement in his SUV, top speed 2.5mph. He’s bang to rights.

But while Oliver is ordered to produce his documents – he could be charged with driving without an MoT, tax and insurance – his accomplice, 70-year-old grandfather Derek, explains more.

Derek says he was “staggered” when the cop pulled over and admonished Oliver for breaking the law. “”I couldn’t believe my ears,” says he.

There’s a picture of Oliver in the Mail, sat in his beast of a car, unbowed by his run in with the law.

As the copper so rightly told him, the miniature vehicle could cause damage to a parked car or pedestrian. To say nothing of trees, snails and any other creature too slow or too scared to escape its path.

“Haven’t they got better things to be doing like catching proper criminals rather than wasting their time?” asks Derek.

We are saddened by Derek’s tone. Crime prevention lies at the very heart of good policing. Had Oliver not been upbraided and instructed in the laws of the land, who knows where his life might have ended up.

It’s a slippery slope. Today a toy car around the estate, tomorrow a ram raid into a conker tree…’

Posted: 2nd, December 2005 | In: Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink