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.”
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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Package holiday company launches new flights from Manchester to European ‘hidden gem’
Emily Sergeant
An affordable package holiday company has launched new flights from Manchester to one of Europe’s so-called ‘hidden gems’.
If you fancy taking a trip to tiny country tucked away in the middle of two major continents, then Holiday Best, one of the UK’s newest holiday package operators – which also happens to boast the lowest deposit on the market at just £25 per person, too – has recently launched new package holidays to Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi.
Running in partnership with Turkish Airlines, the flights have now launched from a handful of major UK airports – including Manchester Airport.
And the best bit? There’s even trips available to book in time for the Easter holidays.
If you don’t know too much about Georgia’s capital city, Tbilisi was often once thought of as one of eastern Europe and the Asian continent’s “hidden gems” – but now, the picturesque place has become a truly modern and diverse city, with a hybrid of influences.
The old town of the capital is full of historic architecture, with a wide range of restaurants designed to make you fall in love with Georgian cuisine, while the outskirts are surrounded by the remote mountains of Svaneti – which some even say rival the Swiss and French Alps, not only in their beauty, but also in their hiking opportunities.
So it’s not hard to see why the city has cemented itself as a popular city break and holiday destination for many tourists, right?
Georgia’s capital Tbilisi is described as being a truly modern and diverse city / Credit: Nina Matcharashvili (via Unsplash)
If it sounds like a country up your street, and you’re keen to book yourself a well-deserved break away, then Holiday Best is currently running a deals for seven-night bed and breakfast stays flying from Manchester Airport, with 20kg baggage allowance and private transfers included – with prices ranging around the £925 mark per person.
A stunning range of four and five-star hotels in Tbilisi are included as part of this new Georgian package holiday offering, so there’s bound to be something in everyone’s budget.
These include the four-star Tbilisi Times Boutique Hotel, with its unique and memorable decor starting at £465pp, and the five-star Grand Tbilisi Metekhi Palace that has a rooftop restaurant and bar, as well as being known for its world-class service.
This company is looking to pay ‘young jetsetters’ to travel the world for FREE
Emily Sergeant
How would you like to travel the world for free? It’s not a bad offer, we’ll say that.
While we know it may sound a little too good to be true, especially for those who love nothing more than the feeling of hopping on a plane, leaving the typical often-dreary Greater Manchester weather behind, and stepping off into the heat of another country, but there’s genuinely a company out there that’s currently looking to pay young people to travel.
That’s right – leading youth, student, and adventure travel company KILROY has put out a call for ‘young globetrotters’ aged between 20 and 25 with a passion for content creation who fancy winning themselves, what can only be described as, “the trip of a lifetime”.
The company has launched a brand-new competition to hire one young British adventurer to join an international lineup of eight recruits for its revamped ‘Explorer Program’ – which is an extraordinary opportunity for budding nomads to bag a life-defining travel experience that’s worth up to €5,000 (or £4,280).
KILROY is looking to pay ‘young jetsetters’ to travel the world for free / Credit: Justin Besson | Dan Gold (via Unsplash)
The lucky young Brit will become KILROY ambassador, and get the chance to explore a range of experiences – including backpacking, volunteering, and group tours across the world over an unforgettable few weeks, all while sharing photos and videos from their adventure to KILROY’s website and social media channels.
Essentially, it’s like an all-expenses paid gap year.
South Korea, China, Argentina, Tanzania, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Fiji, and Vietnam are just some of the thrilling destinations the lucky winners could in with the chance of travelling to.
Chile, Cambodia, and Northern India are a couple more on the expansive destination list.
Fancy it then? If you’re aged between 20 and 25, and are keen to apply, then you’ll just need to “showcase your creativity, passion, and content creation skills” through a one-minute TikTok or Instagram video.
In the video, you’ll need to introduce yourself and your dream travel destination, and then share either an unexpected travel experience, unusual travel tips, tricks and hacks, or an existing or budding passion or skill.
Applicants must follow and tag the KILROY UK social media accounts – @kilroy_uk on TikTok and @kilroy_uk on Instagram – and include their name, age, and dream destination in the caption when posting their video, as well as the hashtag #explorerprogram2024 to enter.
All entries will need to be submitted by midnight on the 11 April 2024 to avoid missing out, and you can visit the ‘Explorer Program’ page on the KILROY website here for all the T&Cs.