Police block M-way to pick up spoiled brat's toy
The toy flew out of the window to land on the central reservation
Police closed a section of the M11 to rescue a girl's soft toy after it flew from the family car in a gust of wind.
Amy Osborn, 10, was returning home to Ramsgate, Kent, from holiday in Essex when her cuddly tiger, Tyrone, escaped through the sunroof.
Her father Simon, who called out Essex Police, said: "One of the officers had children and probably knew the importance of these things."
Police said their action was a "minor inconvenience" to avoid Amy's distress.
The police are obviously very busy ... but I think it's great. It shows their social input and it's something we should be proud of
Simon Osborn
He said the family travelled to the next junction and then turned back to look for the toy.
"It was in the central reservation and there was really not much we could do," he said.
"In desperation, we thought we would call the highway police. They called us when we got home and said they had managed to retrieve the little thing - and popped it in the post for us."
He said the bear had not arrived at the weekend but that Amy - who has owned Tyrone for five years - would be waiting at the door at her home in Ramsgate on Monday.
Mr Osborn added: "The police are obviously very busy and have other things to get on with, but I think it's great.
Road blocked 'for capture'
"It shows their social input and it's something we should be proud of."
A spokesman for Essex Police said: "(Officers) put in a rolling road block for a couple of minutes and so got out safely to capture Tyrone."
Defending the use of police resources, he said: "Any parent would know the distress that their child might suffer from the loss of such a toy.
"It was a minor inconvenience to motorists which I am sure would have been acceptable to all those who have had experienced similar circumstances."
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4150386.stm
|
An excellent PR exercise - no doubt some politically correct or misery guts will strongly object, but we all know what we think of them don't we....:-)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
Oh yes, this is an excellent way to teach children about being responsible!
The toy "flew" out of the sunroof?
What would have happened if the resulting queue has cased an accident and a reultant injury or death?
I'm glad you are happy for your taxes to be used, or should I say misused, for this sort of ridiculous stunt.
I may be a misery guts or just socially responsible and not swayed by the fact that one little girl may be happy for 5 minutes at the expense of however many other were inconvenienced and put at risk!
|
A rolling block was used. Must have cost oooooh 5 mins of peoples time!
|
5 minutes of the time of how many people?
How would you have felt if you were trying to get to Stanstead and were running late and missed your plane because some brat threw their toy out of the car sunroof?
I can't believe that ANYONE would think this was a good idea.
It's not like the child would never get over it and it should have been treated as an opportunity to teach the child repaonsibility for its actions (I suspect that the toy was thrown rather than "blown" out of the sunroof) and that life isn't always fair and you don't always get what you want.
|
>>How would you have felt if you were trying to get to Stanstead and were running late and missed your plane because some brat threw their toy out of the car sunroof?>>
They would almost certainly blame everyone and anyone but themselves for their own stupidity in failing to allow enough time...:-)
The police are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
So an earlir breakdown or another trafic related dealy would be considered ones own fault?
Usually I am a staunch supporter of the police as they are generally unsung heroes. However, I sincerely believe that this was a misuse of resource of the highest order that also endagered the public at large for a misguided reason.
They are not damned if they don't as if they had failed to stop traffic to pick up a childs toy would anyone have complained othere than the child?
What were the parents thinking in reporting it to the police in the first place? I sincerely hope they did not dial 999!
|
|
|
Sorry Stuart but in this case it is merely a case of damned if they do because they shouldn't have.
Whenever we want the police to do something they are supposedly paid to do we get the 'lack of resources' line.
Ridiculous PR stunt that should backfire on them as it seems to be doing.
If I was in that rolling road block I would send the police a bill for my time.
Also a perfect opportunity for the parent to teach the child that actions have consequences was missed.
|
Given that the Police generally now don't sweep up after minor accidents or remove objects from the road as they leave it to the Highways Agency, I find their course of action in this case somewhat bizzare.
Still, I suppose it kept them away from ticketing people for 75mph on the motorway for half an hour.
|
Yes, when I drove oop north on Friday night, the motorway was littered with debris. It was nearly all in the left hand lane, and as I had vehicles passing on my right I couldn't swerve to avoid a lot of it.
If you're forced to drive over something on the motorway and it damages your car, can you claim damages from the Highway's Agency?
|
|
I doubt it, you'd have to sue the person that left the debris (eg. farmers being sued for leaving mud on the road)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Put me down as a misery guts. I can't decide who should be more embarrassed, the police or the father, but they both seem unrepentant. I'd be telling Amy to be more careful in future and start saving up her pocket money if she wants a new one.
John
|
|
Yes, this is a girl who is 10, going to comprehensive school in a year! I do wonder if she was in some way handicapped, and the PC Police were caught between a rock (all these complaints) and a hard place (Local paper headlines of 'Hate Filled Cops Shun Girl with learning Disability') usuall cobblers of this rotten country!
|
Colonel I am sure the word .....
I've amended his wording. DD
|
|
|
|
|
Very nice human touch. Probably caused only a minor delay to the motorists, and hopefully no one did miss their flight at Stansted. The parents should instruct the child to write a thankyou letter to the Essex police.
|
The voice of reason. I'll settle for that and fight down the nagging thought that the parents should write one too.
John
|
I wonder why the police couldn't have noted the nearest marker post number as a reference and left it for the night shift / Highways Agency to run across and pick up at 3am?
PP
|
|
|
|
|
Bearing in mind that we do not know what time they did the roadblock, if it was late in the evening or early in the morning during one of their patrols then what is the problem. They were there anyway, all it took was a couple of minutes of their time - probably saved them 300 calories as they had time to eat one less doughnut during that shift!!! I really can't see why everyone is getting so upset, And seeing as how I am probably one of the biggest Police cynics on here I am actually quite pleased they stopped to retrieve it.
|
I must remember to get them to close lane one so that I can change my wheel in safety the next time I have a blowout and end up on the hard shoulder of the M56!
PP
|
I can't believe that anyone thinks that this was a justifiable action. It beggars belief!
It begs the question, where would you draw the line? What do you think it is NOT appropriate to stop the traffic to rescue?
|
I can't believe that anyone thinks that this was a justifiable action. It beggars belief! It begs the question, where would you draw the line? What do you think it is NOT appropriate to stop the traffic to rescue?
I agree with you tire tread, this story can also only encourage stupid people to phone the police. Its like all those that dial 999 because their medicine spoon is broken, if I was Simon I'd be ashamed to even phone them let alone ask for recovery of a toy.
|
|
|
|
|
There are very few people I admire in the police force, but the guy that has to put the first cone on a busy motorway so a lorry can change a tyre gets my vote every day.
|
|
Do we gather from this incident that it is no longer an offence to throw objects out of car windows?
|
|
The parents are going to have a lot of trouble with that child in the future.
|
I'm against it but not because the Police blocked the motorway. Because the Police blocked the motorway for her.
If I threw my toy (I only have a select few now) out of the sunroof (which she undoubtedly did), my Dad would give me a smack around the head, call me an idiot and carry on driving.
And rightly so.
--
Adam
|
What a sensible man your father sounds.
Can't say I feel strongly about about the police action but why did the parents call them in the first place?
|
In two minds, but read it carefully and it implies that the rolling road block took place some time after the call was made to the Police. I would like to think it was a training event (with some purpose) timed to coincide with a low usage of the stretch of road, rolling road bloks need to be trained for, its hardly something that can be trained in a classroom or on a PC, it needs to be trained for and done on a live road.
I think its rather offensive to label the kid as retarded and it may have been a childish tantrum or a dispute between siblings, we shall never know....but hang on guys - retarded..?!
|
|
|
|
"carry on driving."
I am not sure your father turning round to slap the youg Adam round the head while driving is a good advert.....
|
it's perfectly safe practice on a motorway, so long as the handbrake is on.
John
|
An update to this story here
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4154660.stm
Police who slowed down traffic on the M11 to recover a child's toy have said there was no cost and the move led to only minor inconvenience for drivers.
|
If the have to defend their position then it suggests they know it was an ill advised and inappropriate action.
That toy looks too big and heavy to blow out of the family car. Besides, I believe in the original story it said that it left via the sunroof.
I wonder what the reaction would be if I contacted the police as my mobile phone had "blown" out of the sunroof?
Publicity stunt that has backfired if you ask me!
|
|
Bit of smugness from a well known motoring organisation. I agree with Tyre Tread though sounds like somebody in the cops' media dept. thought it sounded like a human interest story that failed to account on how deeply entrenched the blame culture is i.e. blame the kid, blame the parents, blame the cops etc.I'd like to know who to blame for the blame culture !
|
|
Well I've always blamed you for the blame culture Pug.
|
The family were very lucky that the police POSTED the toy back. After I had a bag of clothes stolen from a hotel 45 miles away, the police rang me having recovered the clothes, doing all the forensic tests, letting the thieves go etc. The conversation went:
Police: Sir, we have an item of your clothing left.
Me: Oh, what's that?
Police: A tie
Me: Thanks very much - as it's so far, could you post it to me, please?
Police: Sorry, sir, can't do that.
Me: Well it's not worth a 90 mile round trip, could you stick it in the bin?
Police: Sorry, sir, can't do that, we'll have to send you a form.
Me: Ah, while you're about it, could you stick my tie in the envelope as well?
Police: Sorry, sir, can't do that.
Me: Mmmmmm, thank you!!! Give it to Oxfam, anything !!! Let's forget the whole ****** thing.
and now they're dealing with the terrorist threat!
|
|
Last time it happened, I was in the front seat.
--
Adam
|
Arrghh! Threaded view.
That was in reply to RF...obviously.
--
Adam
|
I expect Tigger just wanted to look out, and mis-judged the wind force. I'm glad he's back home, he must have been very frightened.
|
are you sure it wasn't an escape bid ?
John
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
