26-02-2021, 08:57 PM
(This post was last modified: 26-02-2021, 09:10 PM by Reckless Rat.)
On the other side of the coin, in the early 1970s I was patrolling with my mate in Rotherham when we came across a woman driving a Ford Cortina Mk1 very slowly, with what appeared to be a very bulbous bonnet. Anxious to ascertain the cause of said defect we required the vehicle to stop and asked the nice lady why her bonnet was in such an elevated state. Not being particularly knowledgeable in the ways of the automotive world she had no idea, stating that it was her husband's car and she'd only borrowed it for the day (never heard that one before). My fellow officer, still posessed with abject curiosity (does this sound like an evidential statement) asked the Lady if she would be so kind as to open the bonnet. Not being aware of how to do, so my colleage offered to help, taking a firm hold of the bonnet release cable under the dashboard. On doing so there was a mighty bang and crash, the bonnet flew open colliding with and smashing the windscreen and the front of the car collapsed on the ground in a cloud of dust! We then discovered that both front Macpherson struts had completely rusted through the inner wings and the bonnet was the only thing that was holding the car together. It was a shame t'was my colleague what had pulled the cable your Worship otherwise the dear Lady might have been here today, summoned for a dangerous vehicle. We decided that as no-one had been injured or inconvenienced that after taking down her particulars (ooh matron!) she was advised to contact a nearby scrap metal company to arrange for its removal and subsequent disposal. We then resumed patrol in anticipation of our mid-shift fry-up at the Police canteen.
Over.
Over.