A CHIPPENHAM man has been ordered to pay more than £200 for verbally abusing a Wiltshire Council parking officer.

Thomas Edward Tume of Park Lane, Chippenham was fined £200 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £30 and costs of £85 at Swindon Magistrates Court. Mr Tume pleaded guilty to the use of threatening/abusive/insulting words/behaviour to cause harassment/alarm/distress.

The incident occurred on 21 December in Park Lane, Chippenham. A Wiltshire Council Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO) had issued a ticket to Mr Tume’s vehicle as it was parked in contravention of double yellow lines opposite his business. Mr Tume approached the officer and was extremely abusive to him. Due to the severity of the confrontation the CEO pressed the emergency button on his telephone which connected to a monitoring station which can call the police if necessary. The CEO recorded the incident on their body worn camera, and this is the first prosecution since Wiltshire Council introduced them in November last year.

Bridget Wayman, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for highways, said: “This sort of behaviour towards our parking officers is simply not acceptable and I hope this makes people think twice before making abusive comments.

“Our officers are just doing their jobs and don’t deserve such hostility. Please imagine carrying out your job while someone is shouting abuse at you and think how uncomfortable and threatened that would make you feel? We take this very seriously and will prosecute where we can.”