Driver Accused of Playing Car Stereo Too Loud in Clear
A driver who was fined ₤30 for playing his car radio too loud, has had the case against him dropped.
Christopher Cureton, of Seacombe, was listening to the rock band The Killers’ hit, Human, as he drove his Vauxhall Astra along Brighton Street, Wallasey, after an eight hour shift, last summer.
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Just after 10pm the 41-year-old mechanic was pulled over by Merseyside Police and given a fixed penalty notice, for producing “excessive noise” in a manner which “could have been avoided by the exercise of reasonable care”.
The outraged dad-of-one appealed the fine, insisting he was listening to the music at an acceptable level, and that he was no boy-racer with a pumped-up car stereo.
Now he has been notified that the case against him has been dropped by the CPS.
Mr. Cureton said: “I am very relieved that common sense has prevailed. I appealed the fine because I knew I had done nothing wrong.
“There was no justification in taking this action against me, the police were over-zealous. I know they have a tough job to do but they should be chasing real criminals instead of issuing fines for non-existent crimes to innocent people.”
Mr. Cureton’s lawyer, David Kirwan, accused the officer who pulled over his client of acting like “a real-life Robocop”.
Mr. Kirwan, Senior Partner of Kirwans Solicitors, said: “This was a ridiculous situation from the very beginning. My client was completely innocent of any crime and was merely going about his business, enjoying some music in his car after a hard days work.
“The police officer who charged him acted like a real-life Robocop. In fact, in his haste to pin something on him, my client was charged under an act that bore no relation to the crime he had been accused of.
“Because of this anomaly and the fact there was no public interest in pursuing the case Kirwans Solicitors was able to get the case discontinued.”
Mr. Cureton added: “I plan to donate the ₤30 fine to Claire House as this was never about money. It felt like this police officer was simply making up a new law on the spot to charge me with.
“At last I feel exonerated, now I want to put the whole episode behind me.”