Driver sentenced over mobile speed camera row

A man who parked his van behind a police mobile speed camera and launched a tirade against its operator has been sentenced to 120 hours community service.

Richard Arnold, 61 from Mount Road in Bournemouth pleaded guilty to obstructing an accredited person and using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

Police said Arnold pulled into the layby on the A348 Ringwood Road in Ferndown in front of the van to take a phone call on 29 October.

In a recording released by police, he can be heard shouting abuse at the operator who asked him to move.

Arnold's Peugeot van had been obstructing the view of the camera.

In the expletive-laden tirade, he can be heard shouting: "I'm gonna park here for the next hour now so you won't film anyone" and "I hope he goes home and finds his family dead."

The operator went back inside his van and requested police support, but the defendant left the scene before officers arrived.

In a statement, the force said: "We are sending out a clear message that we do not tolerate abuse that is directed toward members of our Safety Camera Team."

"The presence of a safety camera van can reduce the speed of motorists and help reduce the risk of anyone being injured in a road traffic collision.

"This location [in Ferndown] has been identified as a hotspot after 45 people were injured on the road since 2019 and numerous complaints of speeding were received from the public."

Arnold was sentenced to 120 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £150 in compensation and £349 in costs when he appeared before Poole Magistrates last month.

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