The first letter warning the pensioner of her court case had been sent to the same street name in the wrong town, making her unaware she had been charged.
By the time it finally arrived at her home in Wivenhoe, Essex, the original court date had passed.
Mrs Harvey was then told to hand herself in at Colchester police station, but due to more blunders officers were still sent to arrest her at her home on Monday night.And what was this 78 year old miscreant's crime?
Beryl Harvey's beloved Labrador-Collie cross Marley bit fellow dog walker Fiona O'Brien-Smith on a playing field near her home. The incident left her with a light scratch and bruising and police went on to interview Mrs Harvey, 78, after the incident, which occurred almost seven months ago.
Despite hearing nothing after her interview, the grandmother-of-five was stunned last week when she received a letter telling her she had missed a court hearing.And despite the fact they never seem to be in much of a hurry to get into a ruck with knife-wielding traveller youths, the prospect of arresting a 78 year old woman must have stiffened the sinews of the brave boys of the Essex farce:
The pensioner, who has no previous convictions, was then forced to spend a terrifying night in police cells ahead of her hearing before magistrates in Colchester.
She was taken from the police station to the court and when she finally appeared before magistrates 21 hours after her arrest she admitted a charge of being in charge of a dog which was dangerously out of control./golfclap
Well done, lads!
Church volunteer Mrs Harvey did not hit out at the police for their actions, kindly saying she had just been very unfortunate.
'The police will just say they are doing their job. It was just error after error with ghastly jail cell food in-between.'You're too kind.
Magistrates handed her a 12-month conditional discharge, meaning there will be no further punishment against her if she does not re-offend.And the farce?
An Essex Police spokeswoman said: 'The letters were sent to the address we had on our records. If Miss Harvey is unhappy with how the matter has been dealt with, she can contact us and we will look into her concerns.'What do you mean, 'if'?
This is not funny, JuliaM. Substitute 'Gestapo' for Keystone Kops and 'aghast' for askance.
ReplyDeleteLook, its not their fault the paper said Buttle.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OalIW1yL-k
I'm up the road in Suffolk. I can confidently say the average plod in Suffolk has an iq lower than the average room temperature and thinks lying is a prerequisite (based on my dealings as a crime victim and one time perpetrator) I doubt that anything is different 20 miles down the road. The ones i see regularly are usually in tescos buying donuts and are unshaven with tattoos.
ReplyDeleteWhen i worked in the tax office dealing with policemens tax affairs was a nightmare - tax returns full of lies and omissions; false claims for expenses despite being told multiple times their claims were invalid.
"This is not funny, JuliaM. "
ReplyDeleteWell, not as funny as a Grenfell Tower effigy bonfire, true, but...
"Look, its not their fault the paper said Buttle."
Heh!
"...usually in tescos buying donuts and are unshaven with tattoos. "
And the male cops are even worse, eh?