Traffic cop unleashes tirade at driver parked in front of his van

‘You’re being a f**king a**e’: Moment ‘jobsworth’ traffic cop unleashes foul-mouthed tirade at driver who parked in front of his speed camera van

• Mark Light, 41, was called a ‘f**king a**e’ for refusing to move his parked up van 
• The joiner from New Brighton, Merseyside, was yelled at by a speed camera worker
• He swore at Mr Light as he accused him of obstruction and threw a letter at him
• The foul-mouthed officer is under investigation and has been spoken to by supervisors

A traffic officer is under investigation after telling a driver trying to ‘admire the seaside view’ that he needed to ‘f***ing move’ for parking in the way of his speed camera.

Joiner Mark Light, 41, said he pulled up in his van on New Brighton Beach promenade, in Merseyside, before he was approached by an ‘aggressive’ road safety police officer.

He claims the officer accused him of obstructing the road and told him he was being ‘a f***ing a***’  for sitting in his van that he said was nearly 30ft away from the speed camera.

Mr Light refused to budge, and is heard in video footage explaining that he is not parking on double yellow lines as the enraged officer goes back to his vehicle. 

Filming through the back hatch of the police van, Mr Light repeatedly asks the officer ‘what’s your number’, when he angrily counters ‘what’s your f***ing name’.

After telling the officer he will report him, joiner Mark says he returned to his Ford transit and waited five minutes to ‘rub it in’ before leaving and posting the shocking video on Facebook that afternoon. 

Merseyside Police have confirmed the incident has been referred to their professional standards department.

The foul-mouthed officer has also been ‘spoken to’ by supervisors as part of an ongoing investigation.

Mr Light, from New Brighton, Merseyside, said: ‘You can’t speak to members of the public like that. It doesn’t matter if you’re police or not.

‘He was quite aggressive, even for a small fellow. He was only about 5ft, so I think a bit of small man syndrome was kicking in. He must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

The traffic officer shouted and rambled a slew of angry words at a joiner who was parked up in his van

The officer accused the driver of obstruction. He repeatedly threatened that the motorist will get a letter through the post

‘I’d just done a bit of work on my van and I just pulled up behind him at the front to chill out and admire the view.

‘I got out, walked into the back of my camper van to have a cup of tea and he just came out shouting at me.

‘He was banging on the window and was annoyed straight away, telling me “you best f**king move”.

‘I had my phone in my hand so I started filming. 

‘I wanted to know who he was because I wanted to put in a complaint about the way he was speaking to me. When I got to the van he threw a letter at me.

‘Imagine if I was an old woman and he came out screaming like that. At least I can stand up for myself.    

Mark Light, 41, next to his Ford Transit. He was trying to enjoy the seaside view when he was verbally attacked with a barrage of swears

Mr Light posted the video on Facebook, and it has since been viewed more than 170,000 times

The traffic officer threw a piece of paper at Mr Light as he said ‘read the letter, you’re obstructing me’

The letter thrown at Mr Light simply informed residents speed vans will be in use due to concerns about road safety in the area

‘He’ll probably be embarrassed when he looks back on it. He could have just moved his van.

‘I’ve seen the van about, but I’ve never seen him before. I think he parked there so he was out of the way.

‘It was a bit more sly because people expect him to be at the end, but there he can catch more people.

‘Afterwards, I got in my van, but I thought “I’m not going straight away”, so I sat in there for about five minutes to rub it in a bit. I was quite annoyed by the end of it.

‘If it was coned off it’s a different story, but I was allowed to park there. I thought “I’ve got to put it on Facebook to show this guy’s an idiot”. It’s gone mad since then.’

Mr Light parked up his van on New Brighton Beach promenade, Merseyside, to enjoy his break

After telling the officer he will report him, Mr Light said he returned to his Ford Transit and waited five minutes to ‘rub it in’ before leaving.

He posted the confrontational video on Facebook that afternoon. 

It has since been shared 2,700 times, while more than 2,300 users commented, many condemning the officer and calling him a ‘jobsworth’.

Phil Burkhill said: ‘That’s a bad day at the office for that particular serving officer. Completely lost it!!’

Richard Potts added: ‘The little jobsworth losing his sh*t is funny as f**k.’

Tracy Nelso added: ‘Dreadful mouth for a copper.’

Irene Morley said: ‘Well in. You kept it together. Never swore at him or threatened him. Send it to the chief constable as a complaint.’

Mr Light hasn’t filed an official complaint with Merseyside Police.

He also has yet to receive a letter from traffic enforcement bosses through the post as the enraged officer insisted he would.

A Merseyside Police spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of footage online showing a Safer Roads Unit enforcement officer having an altercation with a member of the public on Kings Parade, New Brighton.

‘The incident took place on Thursday, October 14 after a Safer Roads vehicle was deployed to the location as part of road safety measures at key speeding locations.

‘We demand the highest possible standards of behaviour from our officers and staff at all times, and the public quite rightly have high expectations of everyone employed at Merseyside Police.

‘This incident has been referred to our dedicated Professional Standards Department, who thoroughly investigate all allegations of misconduct by anyone employed by the force so that staff and the public can have the utmost confidence in our force.

‘The overwhelming majority of officers and staff act with respect, professionalism and integrity at all times, and we take swift and robust action to investigate anyone whose behaviour falls short of those high standards.

‘The member of police staff involved has been spoken to by supervisors and further enquiries into the full circumstances of the incident are ongoing.’ 

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