An amateur photographer who has made local headlines after being stopped and arrested by police for taking photographs has been quizzed again.

Alex Turner, who runs the popular blog monaxle.com, was arrested on 8 July under s44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 after taking photographs in Chatham High Street.

11 days later, Mr Turner was quizzed again in Chatham High Street, taking photographs on his way home from the pub. This time he was not arrested, but he still faced questions from police about his hobby.

Mr Turner said on his blog ‘should someone with a camera taking pictures openly in a public place be considered a threat? How far should preventative measures be taken? Is this far enough?

‘Perhaps cameras should be treated like guns and you have to have a licence to own one with tight restrictions on where and how you use it. Perhaps mobile phones with cameras should be banned. Perhaps video?s made in public should all be vetted. Perhaps compulsory ID cards should be introduced.

‘What price are you willing to pay to be reassured against a supposed threat to your safety?’

Mr Turner’s arrest has appeared in all three of the local papers – making the front page of the News last Thursday.

In a letter to the Proffesional Standards Department regarding his arrest, Mr Turner said ‘I was initially stopped by two men in the High Street close to Snappy Snaps. The men did not identify themselves though stated that they worked for Medway Council.

‘I was made to sit in a police van for around 20 minutes, after which the outer back doors were opened and I was spoken to through the locked inner cage by two officers, both of whom were in plain clothes and neither of which produced their warrant cards.

‘I was asked if I would provide details regarding my identity. I asked, taking into account I was now under arrest, handcuffed and detained, if I was obliged to do so. They stated that I was and said that if I did not I would be taken to the police station.

‘I indicated I could not physically provide any proof of my identity whilst handcuffed and locked in the van. I asked to be unhandcuffed. The request was refused.

‘One of the officers placed his hand inside my jacket pocket and removed my wallet upon which he opened it and could see my photo card driving license. He passed the wallet to one of his colleagues who took it away. He then proceeded to search my pockets and pat me down.

‘For a further 5-10 minutes I stood in the street in full view of passers by handcuffed. One of the officers stated she had felt threatened by me when I took her picture. I cannot recall exactly what she said but I do recall her referring to my size and inferring she found it intimidating at the time (I am 5ft 11in and weigh about 12 stone).

‘The other officer returned and released the handcuffs. He put his hand out for me to shake, apologised for the inconvenience, stated that he hoped I understood given the ?strange? times we are in and left in an unmarked car.

‘I asked the female officer if I was free to go and continue to take pictures in the High Street, she informed me that I was; the PCSO added as long as you don?t take any pictures of us. At this point I walked away feeling upset, embarrassed and traumatised by the events.’

Stephen Jarrett, who lives with his councillor father Alan, the Deputy Leader of Medway Council, and his mother Denise, was arrested when the family home in Ballens Road, Chatham, was raided on Thursday morning.

Despite the controversy this will likely be made into by opposition parties on the council, this is, and should be treated as, a strictly private family matter.

Cllr Jarrett said:

Anything that may or may not have happened is a private family matter and will be dealt with as such.

It is nothing to do with my job or my role as a councillor, nor is it anything to do with me or with Denise.

It does not impact on the council or the work I do for the council.

It is distressing enough for a family to witness a raid and arrest, without the media and opposition parties shining a spotlight on them through what should be a time for privacy.

For my part, this will be my only comment on this matter and I hope, though suspect otherwise, that others will follow suit.

It is an old agreement that dates back to the day the land was given to the old Gillingham Borough Council for the use of the people of Twydall.

It was with some shock, then, that I received a phone call on my way in to work on Sunday warning me that a sign had gone up in Twydall Green car park, stating a maximum parking time of 20 minutes.

Most people who know the area could tell you that you could easily spend at least as long queueing in most of the stores in the Green, if not longer, so I failed to believe even Medway Council could impose such an unrealistic restriction.

So, when I finished work, I headed over to the car park (for once I had actually managed to secure a place outside the Co-op) to find out the actual restriction is just as unfathomable:

The maximum parking time in Twydall Green is now 20 hours.

How on Earth does the council intend to police this? Are they going to employ Civil Enforcement Officers round the clock to ensure someone who parks there at 07:00 on day one is gone by the end of 20 hours at 03:00 on day two? And what of people, such as myself, who park up for something, drive off then return again within a few hours for something else?

In theory this appears to be the council restricting the people of Twydall from using the land as per the original agreement.

In practice this appears to be an unenforceable restriction which will have no affect on the people of Twydall whatsoever.

Update 03/04/09 @ 13:15

I stand corrected.

A colleague of mine at the Co-op has just informed me that the restrictions have been in place for about a year.

As with most bloggers, I rely on my sources (and this one is usually reliable) but it is up to me to check the facts in any information given before posting, or making it obvious that the facts have not been checked.

In this case the only fact I could check – and did – was that the parking restrictions were in place. I could not check that they were new.

I’ve always known parking in Twydall Green is free, so I have never looked for the parking restrictions board, so did not know it has been there for some time.

Apologies to anyone who may have found this post a bit misleading.

I would like to offer you all a word of warning: if you feel like doing a good deed for the Vulture, just don’t.

We’ve now learned that the Council intends to buy a second car, perhaps to keep busy on the road (or not as has been photographically proven) whilst the first is busy touring the Medway Schools.

In his Between the Lines column in the Medway Messenger last Friday, David Jones told us about the case of Susan Maxwell, who spotted the Vulture in a busy road in Chatham.

“To avoid hitting the car I pulled over to one side to let it through,” said Susan.

“I thought I was being a considerate motorist. I couldn’t believe it when I received a ticket in the post.

“I went to the council offices to protest and they showed me the picture. I clearly have two hands on the wheel as though I am about to continue driving.”

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the road, so to speak, for Susan Maxwell. As the original ticket had gone missing in the Christmas post, she was being fined a higher amount, all for doing the right thing.

When she explained this to the Council, they changed their minds: they were, in fact, only going to charge her the original amount.

How kind.

Due to the nature of the conflicting reports, and the fact that I seldom like posting about mere speculation, I have witheld comment on this topic since the store closed at the end of last year.

However, shelves can clearly be seen full of products in the store, as workers have been going in overnight to avoid questions, and, although it is once again only speculation, it is believed the store will open for business on Monday.

The speed with which the store is being restocked leads me to suspect there is some truth in this, despite the Woolworths signage still being prominent at the front of the store.

As to what the store will be, the strong betting is that it will be on a similar level to a pound store, meaning Loose Change next door will likely be the Twydall store hardest hit in the first few weeks and months.

I will, of course, bring you more as it comes.

Kent Police are operating mobile speed cameras in Medway this week.

The cameras will be around from today (Monday, February 9) until Friday (February 13).

No one should be breaking the speed limit, but we have all seen it happen, and many of us have seen the result, or know of someone who has seen the result, of speeding.

This is just to warn you that the cameras are out and about and could be positioned anywhere in Medway throughout this week.

Not Smart parking

IT WAS great to hear that Medway Council?s CCTV Smart car is more than just a money-spinner. After all, it has only made a profit of ?185,000. So far.

I suppose I should declare that I was a supporter when it was introduced, and am still supportive of the principles behind it.

I think I speak for most road users when I say that I am resentful of the permission the car?s drivers have received to park wherever they please; double yellow lines, pavements or other dangerous places.

From the evidence presented, it is hard to conclude that the Smart car is anything but a money-spinner. After all, if it was really introduced to combat dangerous parking, then I?m sure it wouldn?t park in the same dangerous places and pose the same risk.

Alan Collins
Goudhurst Road, Twydall

In the mean time, allow me to ponder this: do the drivers really think that they are so far above the law that they can drive the Vulture whilst talking on a mobile phone?

Because that is exactly what the driver was doing when he drove past me just now.

Update 28/01/09 @ 12:55

The whole incident happened just after I had picked the girlfriend up.

I had just passed the Black Lion, turned towards the High Street and was signalling to turn into Marlborough Road.

In conversation, I stopped dead the second I saw what was coming in the other direction. The Girlfriend soon realised why – after all, most people know my feelings on the matter.

When it passed, however, I realised exactly what the driver was doing.

By this time I had started yet another rant about the Vulture and was so angered in the heat of the moment that I couldn’t help myself.

I exclaimed (rather loudly) “and he’s talking on his f**king mobile phone”, perhaps frightening the Girlfriend a wee bit.

In hindsight, I cannot be sure whether the driver was male of female, but I know what I am sure of.

They were breaking the law in driving whilst using a mobile phone!

I’m beginning to feel less sympathy for the drivers who are almost always at the receiving end of the abuse for the Vulture.

Smart car is just a moneyspinner

IT was great to read in your paper that Medway Council’s CCTV Smart car is more than just a money-spinner. After all, it has only made a profit of ?185,000. So far.

I suppose I should declare that I was a supporter of the Smart car when it was first introduced, and am still fully supportive of the principles behind it. However, it has been steeped in controversy, and it is understandable why.

I am resentful of the permission the car’s drivers have received to park wherever they please, whether it be on double yellow lines, pavements ot other dangerous places.

From the evidence presented it is hard to conclude that the Smart car is anything but a money-spinner. After all, if it was really introduced to combat dangerous parking which puts lives at risk, then I’m sure it wouldn’t park in the same dangerous places and pose exactly the same risk.

In the past couple of months two of my family’s cars were involved in incidents, due to either dangerous driving or dangerous parking. But where was the Smart car? Probably parked illegally somewhere.

Perhaps it might consider swinging by Twydall Green. There are always enough cars on double yellow lines to make it worth their while.

Alan Collins
Goudhurst Road

Hit hard by the collapse of Woolworths (and thus their suppliers), Zavvi went into administration shortly before Christmas.

With Adams struggling as well, the usual wander down Chatham High Street could soon be a depressing saunter down an unfamiliar sprawl of empty and closing stores.

Of course the question on everybody’s lips, especially after Nissan’s recently announced job cuts, is “who’s next?”.