A Lancashire man has been handed a fine after sticking both his middle fingers up at a road camera to “celebrate” that he was driving under the speed limit.
And now, 44-year-old Ben Baron is crowdfunding to pay his fine.
The incident – which occurred on the commute to work in early December 2020 – happened as Ben approached a known speeding “hotspot” in Clayton-le-Moors where he had previously been caught by a camera before.
Ben admitted that he was just so “elated” to pass the camera while under the limit, that he decided to celebrate by sticking his middle fingers up at the operator.
But unfortunately, this meant that he drove “around 200 metres” with both hands off the wheel.
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The dad-of-two and Software Developer then carried on with his day oblivious to the fact, while he had not been committing a speeding offence, he had instead been snapped for “not being in a position to have proper control” of the vehicle, and claims he was “in tears of laughter” after receiving the legal letter with a notice of intended prosecution and images showing him swearing while his passenger laughed along.
Ben joked that the person responsible for handing him the fine has “made it personal”, which is he launched a GoFundMe page to cover the costs, vowing to give any leftover money to charity.
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“[When I got the letter] I was in tears of laughter.” Ben said.
“I’ll take one for the team with this one because it’s so funny. It’s a clear-cut case of me flipping the bird at them with both hands [so] it’s a bit of kudos,
“I’m happy to pay the fine.
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“I did a celebratory double-flipping, two-handed, which is obviously now leading to the prosecution [and] I carried on doing it for quite a while too, around 200 metres potentially.
“They’ve got good cameras.
“I think, looking on the internet, the maximum fine is £1,000 for that offence [so] I decided to launch a GoFundMe and hopefully people with a sense of humour [will donate].
“I’ll pay the fine off then give the rest to charity if there’s anything left.”
Wikimedia Commons
And he’s right too.
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For failing to be in proper control of a motor vehicle, offenders may receive three penalty points and a £100 fine if dealt with by way of a fixed penalty, with the maximum penalty being a £1,000 fine.
While Ben’s GoFundMe page – titled ‘Help Me Pay My Fine For Sticking It To The Man’ – was launched on last Wednesday morning and has yet to attract any donations, he claims that he has been inundated with tips from fellow experienced drivers on how to appeal the fine by online, but admits they didn’t know the full story.
Since he has freely admitted to the offence, he claims he won’t appeal it, but hopes some contributions on his fundraising page maybe soften the financial blow.
Ben said: “I’ve been driving for 20 years. It was a quiet day on the roads since it’s lockdown. I was just driving to the office.
“Online, I’ve had [funny replies] and people telling me how to appeal it, but I don’t think they knew the full story.
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“I can’t necessarily appeal it.
Realistically, I don’t think I’ll get away with it because I was doing it.”
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Pubs in Greater Manchester are giving out free pints… of crisps
Emily Sergeant
A handful of pubs across Greater Manchester are handing out free pints this month, but with a bit of a catch.
The catch being it’s a free pint of crisps.
With January in full swing, and many people generally choosing to give up or cut back on their alcohol consumption in the spirit of Dry January, the nation’s most popular crisps brand, Walkers, has launched a brand-new ‘Pack Our Pubs’ initiative, which is aiming to help people stick to their sober goals while supporting pubs during what is typically their toughest month of the year.
Sadly, statistics showed that more than 400 pubs closed their doors last year, and those remaining are currently dealing with what’s thought to be the driest January yet – with 15.5 million people claiming they’d be taking a break from alcohol for the month.
Pubs in Greater Manchester are giving out free pints… of crisps / Credit: Flickr | Esperanza Doronila (via Unsplash)
On top of that, new research has also showed that, even if not giving up alcohol, more than a third of adults (36%) said they’ll avoid the pub altogether as they’re “trying to be good” this month and focus on their health.
Which is why Walkers is offering an alternative at hundreds of pubs nationwide.
Anyone who heads to their local pub and orders an alcohol-free pint this month will also get a pack of Walkers crisps from the ‘Better For You’ range chucked in for free, including popular varieties such as Walkers Baked, Walkers 45% Less Salt, Snack a Jacks, Popworks, and Sunbites.
300+ pubs across the UK will be giving out a ‘free pint’ of 0.0% crisps away with any non-alcoholic drink order.
Speaking on the initiative, Cynthia Finke, who is Marketing Director at Walkers’ parent company, PepsiCo, said : The beauty of our Better For You range means that no one has to miss out on the things they enjoy in January, like snacks.
“It’s much easier to stick to your goals if you’re able to have fun at the same time, and being able to support the pub industry at the same time is a bonus to boot.”
You just need to head to your nearest participating pub, including Stonegate Proper Pubs, all throughout January to support your local and enjoy a free pint of crisps.
Featured Image – Supplied
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Londoner ‘bewildered’ by first visit to Trafford Centre, comparing it to ‘Tutankhamun’s secret lair’
Daisy Jackson
A man visiting the Trafford Centre for the first time has said he’s been left ‘bewildered’ by the huge Greater Manchester shopping destination.
In a hilarious video titled ‘the least tired shopping centre in the UK’, vlogger and content creator MC said that the retail giant looks like ‘Tutankhamun’s secret lair’.
In the TikTok post, he films himself walking around the shops slack-jawed saying he feels ‘like I’m in Dubai or something’.
Us Mancs who have grown up going to the Trafford Centre probably forget how out-of-the-ordinary it actually is, from the food court that looks like a cruise ship to the palm trees to the fountains to the marble-esque pillars.
MC spends a bit of time ogling at the fountains, comparing the benches to a ‘throne’, and even stroking the plants to see if they’re real (they are).
He also said that the Trafford Centre has made it ‘unfair’ for the other shopping centres, setting the bar too high.
He said: “Now Manchester, I can’t like, I feel like you owe us, and by us I mean the rest of the UK, an explanation. Because why does your shopping centre look like this, bro? What?!
“Bro I’m absolutely bewildered, this is like I’m in Dubai or something bro.
“Like bro you can’t tell me this don’t look like Tutankhamun’s lair has moved all the way up to the north bro.
“Why don’t we have nowt like this in London? I’m telling you right now, try going to a shopping centre in London, you’ll find Westfield, Stratford.
“Sat on this bench in the middle of the shopping centre, looking at this, I feel like I’m on a throne.
“Is no one else seeing this? They have a waterfall in the middle of a shopping centre, this is not normal behaviour!
“These trees, they’re all real you know! It’s all in real soil.
“They did too much when they made this shopping centre, come on, this is unfair for the rest of them.”
At the end of the TikTok, he spots the Trafford Palazzo – home to Primark as well as attractions like Archie’s Atomic roller rink and the NERF Experience, and says: “Bro and I’m not even done! There’s even another shopping centre! Now what is this place?!”
One person commented: “trafford centre and is just pure nostalgia to me, titanic food court, twinkling stars in the ceiling, dolphin fountain, i remember being a kid when it was being built and being like, bruh.”
Another wrote: “Trafford centre has no right being as good as it is and we’re not even mentioning the fact that it has a cruise themed food court or that a giant waterpark is being built next door.”
Someone else said: “The Trafford Centre fr the reason every other shopping centre is dying i swear.”
Do you remember your first trip to the Trafford Centre?
The Manc -
15th February 2021 
