Speed camera bomber jailed

Published on 14th September 2006 in News

Craig Moore (28), of Grampian Way in Thorne, blew up the camera to destroy evidence of his speeding - but it was only a road safety camera, which cannot be used to prosecute drivers.

Mr Moore, a railway worker, used the explosive substance thermite taken from his workplace to destroy the camera, Manchester Crown Court heard last Wednesday.

The explosion caused £11,700 worth of damage to the camera, which had flashed Mr Moore speeding in the Hyde area of Manchester last August.

Mr Moore had pleaded guilty to the charge of damaging the property at an earlier hearing in August.

Andrew Bailey, defending, said his client knew that adding extra speeding points to the 10 he already had on his driving licence would mean he would lose it, and with it his livelihood.

The camera captured Mr Moore's van moments before the detonation; he was arrested after being traced through his registration plate.

The court heard Mr Moore had previous convictions for driving while disqualified, without insurance and for car theft.

His defence told the court that Mr Moore wished to pay for the damage to the camera at a rate of £200 per month. But Judge Timothy Mort chose to give him a custodial sentence.

Passing sentence, Judge Mort said: "When one gets involved in such situations and resorts to the level you did of the extreme step of destroying a camera it has to be a custodial sentence - as punishment and a deterrent, so that no one else in your position tries that again."