‘I
don’t think that is fair at all. I think they must have wanted to make
an example of him. But I think a slap on the wrist would have been
sufficient.
‘Perhaps he
could have gone on a driver awareness course, but what he has got from
the court is really quite harsh. I would not wish that fine on anybody.’
PC Mark Hercules, the
traffic policeman who was following Lees in Colchester, said: ‘The
vehicle was driven through the puddle at a relatively fast speed making
no attempt to slow down or avoid it.
‘As
a consequence, a large wave of water absolutely soaked the children and
their parents. We could hear the screams from the children as they got
drenched in the cold, dirty rainwater.
‘The motorist drove off. Fortunately, I was able to witness the whole incident.
‘His actions caused distress to the young children.
‘In
addition, I pointed out the hidden hazards that lie in large puddles
and the fact he could have lost control of his vehicle and caused a
danger to other road users.’
Lees, who has been driving for less than a year, will have to pass both his theory and driving test again to regain his licence.
Chelmsford magistrates also ordered him to pay £90 court costs and a £50 victim surcharge on top of his £500.
Last
night, he said the loss of his licence meant he faced losing his job
because he uses his red VW Polo to drive to work in Chelmsford, 25 miles
from his home in Colchester.
He added: ‘I did not mean to splash the family.
‘I knew there was a police car behind me, so why would I do something like that on purpose when they were following?
‘I turned round a corner and then went through the puddle and was spotted straight away.
‘But
if you ask anyone who knows me, I am not the kind of person to do
something like that on purpose. That’s not what I am like at all.
‘It
was one lapse of concentration and nothing more than that. People
drive through puddles and people do get splashed – it’s unavoidable
unfortunately. It really is an everyday occurrence, so, yes, I do feel
hard done by.’
Although unusual, it is not unheard-of for drivers who splash pedestrians to fall foul of police.
In
2009, a 29-year-old Kerry Callard, from Plymouth, was questioned by
Devon and Cornwall Police after she posted a video clip of herself
online soaking pedestrians in a craze called ‘happy splashing’.
She
was reportedly heard howling with laughter in the 30-second film as she
drove through a puddle, soaking children waiting at a bus stop.
Four
years earlier, a man from Yeovil in Somerset was fined £150 and given
three points on his licence after accidentally driving through a puddle
at 10mph, soaking the trousers of a workman at the side of the road.
