Llanthony Lift Bridge man fined

A MAN has been been fined £60 for pushing his motorbike across Llanthony Lift Bridge over the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal.

As a pedestrian bridge, Gloucestershire County Council installed a CCTV camera to catch anyone driving across, that showed Paul Ravenhill pushing his motorbike over the bridge.

Contesting it

He then received notice of the fine, but says he has every intention  of contesting it, remarking that it was ridiculous as he was not even riding it:

"I couldn't believe it, to be honest. They must have some kind of automatic camera or something. I wasn't even riding the thing, I'm definitely contesting the fine, it's not on."

Money maker

The camera has been something of a money maker, with 15,955 motorists being fined since last July, making a total of £480,000 as the share for the council if everyone had paid the reduced fine of £30.

However, the camera has had some effect, as there is an average of around 30 a day now using it compared to more than 2,000 a day at peak times before it was introduced. There are 12 signs warning motorists not to use the bridge.