Yahoo News Elderly driver, 76, fined £100 and given three points for ‘allowing ambulance to pass’
Frank Wallington inched his BMW through a red light to allow the ambulance to pass on the A52 in Radcliffe on Trent, Nottinghamshire.
An elderly driver who made way for an ambulance has been handed a £100 fine and three points on his licence.
Frank Wallington, 76, has held a clean driving licence for over 20 years but has been hit with the penalty after moving his car through a red light to allow the emergency vehicle to get past.
The pensioner had been driving home from his cousin's funeral in March last year when he was caught on camera inching past the lights – just one second after they changed.
Fearing he would cause paramedics to be delayed by being stuck in front of them on a single lane, he felt he had no option but to inch forward to let the ambulance, that was flashing its blue lights, pass on the A52 in Radcliffe on Trent, Nottinghamshire.
But he was left stunned when Nottinghamshire Police issued him with the fine despite only the front end of his BMW going over the white line.
The grandad-of-four appealed the penalty by stating what had happened but he was left without a response for nearly a year.
He has now been told that he must appear at Nottingham Magistrates' Court next month if he wants to dispute the punishment.
Mr Wallington, of Walsall, West Midlands, says he had been left "feeling like a criminal" despite doing "nothing wrong" and he has always prided himself on being a competent driver.
He said: "I'm being treated like a criminal without having done anything wrong. I don’t think it’s just. If it was speeding and caught I would understand.
“If there was no other vehicles involved I would probably have put my hands up and admitted it.
"Instead I'm being punished for doing the right thing. The alternative was blocking and delaying an ambulance responding to an emergency.
"I can't deny that I was one second late going through the traffic lights, but my point is there were very legitimate mitigating circumstances."
Frank now plans to write to the court as he doesn’t believe he will be able to make the 14 February hearing date.
He added: “I’m going to write to the court reiterating the points and tell them that I've been unjustly treated.
“I'm not going to drive 60 miles there and back all to say what I can say in a letter...
"They are just not listening to what I am explaining to them and it's been incredibly frustrating."
Yahoo News UK has contacted Nottinghamshire Police for a comment.
