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GOING FLAT OUT: A police stinger device stops councillor John Fox on his mobility scooter. Picture:
A CRACKDOWN with a sting in its tail has been launched today to stop road hogs in electric wheelchairs from terrorising city shoppers.
Speeding, swerving drivers, who are making pedestrians jump to safety, will be stopped in their tracks from today by a new specifically developed "stinger" device.
The gadget – a miniature version of the one used by police to stop getaway cars by puncturing their tyres, will be used in the city centre – where the speedsters are known to gather.
To mark the launch, The Evening Telegraph was given an exclusive demonstration today by Pc Ivor Ruse, with the help of city councillor John Fox, into how the scheme would work.
Pc Ruse said: "Some people get carried away when they get out in these wheelchairs and can't wait to open the throttle and put the pedal to the metal.
"You can see them zig-zagging without a care in the world through pedestrian traffic in Cathedral Square and Bridge Street, with their shopping bags flying in the slipstream.
"However, we have launched this crackdown today, on April 1, to show how we will take the air out of their tyres with the stinger, our most potent device for this kind of anti-social behaviour.
"Some may think this is a drastic measure, but we feel that if we don't take this action, we could see the start of a new form of street racing."
Officers carrying stingers will be on patrol during normal shopping hours, seven days a week, and will use a special covert method to disguise them.
In order to have the maximum success rate for snaring speeders, the devices will be carried in recyclable shopping bags to avoid alerting any would-be Jenson Buttons in wheelchairs.
After his encounter with the stinger, Cllr Fox said: "I certainly got the point. this device will not be a letdown."
Olof Lipra, spokesman for the Federation of Electric Wheelchair Users, said: "We will be monitoring the use of this device.
"We feel no one should be allowed to turn the rules of the road into a joke."
i hasten to add that this report in the peterborough evening telegraph is infact an APRIL FOOL!!
