TORY COUNCILLOR ARRESTED !

Councillor Fred Brown

When Fred Brown defended himself against a young thug causing trouble in his launderette he was the one who found himself charged with assault ! (Fred Brown)

A Tory councillor, Fred was recovering from skin cancer and had arthritis and a heart condition, and had suffered for years at the hands of yobs who had broken the windows of his launderette 60 times !

Police had been called to his launderette in Littleport in Cambridgeshire on the afternoon of August 22, but they didn't turn up, so Fred was called and found young thug Luke Rainford kicking one of his machines.

He told the teenager, and two friends who were with him, to "clear off" and they walked into the optician's next door. When he followed them and told them to leave, Rainford spat at him and made headbutting gestures. Outside the boy walked towards him waving a fist.

Fearing he was about to be hit, Mr Brown slapped Rainford away, hitting him on the side of his head. When Mr Brown's wife stepped in, Rainford called her a "fat cow" and spat in her face.

The police then charged him with assault and over the next few months, despite his health problems, he had to appear in court several times !

Asked in court why he had not waited for the police to arrive he said: "Everyone in Littleport knows that if you call the police on a Monday you are likely to get them on a Wednesday."

Finally, in a case which cost between £10-15,000, he was acquitted and Chairman-of the Bench Hamish Ross said: "We find the force he used was indeed reasonable because, in the absence of police which he had requested, he felt a duty of care to staff in the optician's and to customers."

Insp Adam Gallop, from Cambridgeshire police, said after the case: "We appreciate the judicial process can be distressing and difficult, but we are duty-bound to investigate all incidents reported to us thoroughly and impartially."

That is of course if and when they finally arrive !

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