A veteran officer has criticised a police force for wasting their time hunting a driver who sped through a large puddle and soaked a family, when they should be ‘finding burglars and thieves’.
A family-of-five, three of whom are disabled children, were drenched from top to bottom during the incident in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, on Tuesday.
Derbyshire Police state they are aware of the incident and efforts to trace the driver are continuing, but many members of the public feel the force are wasting their time.
Mick Neville, a former Scotland Yard detective, supported this point of view, telling the it was an ‘easy case’ for the local community support officer if they had the car’s registration number.
Mr Neville said: ‘If they have a registration number it seems an easy case for the local PCSO to ‘have a word’, but if not they should be trying to find burglars and thieves.’
All five family members, three of whom are disabled children, were drenched from top to bottom during the incident in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, on Tuesday
Mick Neville, a former Scotland Yard detective, supported this point of view, telling the it was an ‘easy case’ for the local community support officer if they had the car’s registration number
Social media users voiced their frustration
Many felt it was a waste of police time
Moe criticism towards Derbyshire Police
The family, who have requested to remain anonymous, were out for a stroll at around 2.20pm when a white car approached them.
Others agreed with Mick Neville and believed the police should be focusing their attentions elsewhere
The relatives were walking past a large puddle and the mother motioned ‘stop’ to the driver, who instead ‘sped up’ – splashing them completely.
The children’s mother and grandmother described the motorist’s behaviour as ‘unbelievably callous’, The Telegraph reports . However, social media users took to X, formally known as Twitter, to express their frustration at the police hunt for the driver.
One user posted: ‘FFS. Plod must be completely bored, and it must be a slow news day in Swadlincote, if this is all they’ve got’
Another said: ‘Seriously? Tens of thousands of unsolved crimes but this gets their attention?’
A third wrote: ‘FFS! Who would call the police because they got wet?! Time wasters!’
A fourth simply put: ‘Meanwhile… In proper crime……. Police can’t be bothered.’
The woman involved in the incident said that two of the children are physically disabled and were distressed by the ordeal.
She said: ‘My son is 6ft tall and he was drenched. The water went right over his head.
‘My two-year-old granddaughter was screaming, “I don’t like it”. The pushchair was wet through.”
‘I was shocked more than anything. It’s unbelievably callous.’
Splashing a pedestrian by driving through puddles next to a pavement can be deemed a criminal offence, with possible fines of up to £5,000 and nine points to a license, under the Road Traffic Act 1988.
If motorists are caught, they are likely to be handed a £100 fixed penalty notice and three penalty points.
Derbyshire Police have been approached for a comment.
Elsewhere , shocking dashcam footage was shared yesterday showing a motorist driving through a puddle and callously soaking a binman trying to clear up after the festive period, leaving locals outraged and demanding police action.
Retired cop Julie Lancaster was astonished when she witnessed the incident in Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire, as Storm Henk drenched Britain earlier this week.
The 64-year-old former sergeant was driving home from the dry cleaners when she spotted the binman on the other side of the road collecting loose cardboard next to the puddle.