Cause for offence

A British woman called the police to report that her scarecrow had been stolen, only to discover that the scarecrow had in fact been taken into custody by the police. The offending scarecrow had been placed outside a village dressed in a high visibility jacket and a police uniform, to highlight a scarecrow festival in the village.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A British woman called the police to report that her scarecrow had been stolen, only to discover that the scarecrow had in fact been taken into custody by the police. The offending scarecrow had been placed outside a village dressed in a high visibility jacket and a police uniform, to highlight a scarecrow festival in the village. The local police had been informed that this would take place and had given their approval. However when police drove past they spotted that the scarecrow also sported a fake radar detector made of cardboard. Realising that the fake cardboard radar gun posed a safety potential hazard and could have caused passing drivers to become alarmed, the police rushed the offending scarecrow into a police vehicle and took it to the local police station. A spokesperson explained that impersonating a police officer is an offence and added that the scarecrow sent an inappropriate message to motorists. The scarecrow maker commented that the fake radar gun was actually intended to encourage motorists to slow down.

Related Content

  • Waiting on a train?
    February 27, 2012
    An elderly British driver was charged with dangerous driving by police after he mistakenly drove his car onto the platform of a railway station. The man explained that he must have taken a wrong turn. Witnesses pointed out that he drove his car 200m up a footpath that was clearly marked. The man then drove his car almost the full length of the platform and at times was close to the edge and in danger of falling onto the busy commuter line leading to London. Waiting rail passengers had to scramble out of the
    Read More
  • Nose knows no offence?
    February 23, 2012
    A British motorist was recently stopped by police and charged for the offence of blowing his nose while his vehicle was at a standstill. The man had stopped his van in traffic and opted to use the time to wipe his nose with a handkerchief. He was then stopped by police who told him he had not been in control of his vehicle. For this offence he was fined €5.76 and given three points on his driving licence. The driver said that he thought the policeman was joking at first but quickly realised that the officer
    Read More
  • Car nuts
    January 19, 2016
    Two young car enthusiasts in Russia decided to make an unexpected trip to a local car dealership, in a bid to buy a high performance Jaguar. The five year old boys escaped from their kindergarten and headed for the dealership to purchase a sports car. The fact that they had no money on them did not deter the boys in their quest. Luckily they were spotted by a woman driving past in her car. She took the boys to the nearest police station and they were later returned unharmed to their parents, much to the rel
    Read More
  • Open and shut case
    February 21, 2012
    Two British police officers were surprised to see a woman driving her car with the bonnet (hood) open. They stopped the woman who explained that the bonnet was faulty and that she was taking the car to a garage to be repaired. She had been squinting through a small 100mm high gap between the dashboard and bonnet as she drove her car to the garage. The incident was recorded by police in the UK county of Dorset where the authorities have been cracking down on bad driving. In another case, police stopped a man
    Read More

Highlighted Content