Niall Taylor says his car was stopped here, not on a Haverfordwest roundabout

A PENSIONER, who has been convicted of speeding by Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court, and again on appeal to The Crown Court on Friday (Jun 16) says that he is going to take the case to the Court of Appeal ‘because the police are liars’.

Niall Taylor, 67, is determined that the police stopped him on Arnolds Hill on the A40, which is a 60mph zone – but the police told two courts that Taylor was sighted by the Toyota Garage just outside Haverfordwest in a temporary 40mph zone, and was stopped on the nearby roundabout.

Taylor says that he has asked for number plate recognition (NPR) information from data cameras near the scene – all that is needed to prove his innocence according to him – but he claims he has been repeatedly blocked in his request.

Niall Taylor, 67, is determined that the police stopped him on Arnolds Hill

Taylor insists that the data will show that he was not stopped where the police say, and that the two police officers involved are liars. Speaking at the Magistrates’ Court hearing in February he said: “I am in total disbelief at this. The officer is not telling the truth. I would not go to all this effort just to dodge a speeding fine.”

But data from the two police officer’s TETRA Airwave radios showed that the police were parked on a nearby roundabout, which supported the police’s side of the story in court. At the appeal, the police ICT specialist Suzanne James, however, was unable to confirm how accurate the radio location data was.

The police traffic car involved did not have any operational CCTV cameras according to official statements. The PC said: “None of the RPU vehicles, including the [vehicle I was driving], are fitted with dash cams, CCTV or any other video recording equipment. Neither myself, or my colleague, were issued with or in possession of personal body cams.”

The officer, of Haverfordwest’s Road Policing Unit had told Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court in February that he and a colleague had been conducting speed checks on the A40 near the Toyota dealership on August 22 last year.

At the magistrates’ court Taylor was found guilty and fined £55, and three points were added to his licence. With court costs included the total he owed the court rose to £710

The PC told the court: “At about 7.30pm on August 22, Mr Taylor’s car came into sight and the device recorded a speed over 40mph. A speed of 52mph in fact.”

On May 15, at Swansea Crown Court, at a preliminary appeal hearing, Judge Paul Thomas was minded to strike the case against Taylor out because the CPS would not produce the data which had been ordered. But Taylor said he did not want the case against him dismissed.

He told the judge: “No I am not being found not-guilty by default, my name has been splashed all over the newspapers. I am innocent and I want to prove my innocence one hundred percent. I do not want to be let off on a technicality.”

On hearing that Judge Paul Thomas ordered that the appeal go ahead.

Taylor, who was representing himself in court, was again convicted last week by a different judge.

When asked how he could pay his fine at the end of the hearing, Taylor said: “I’m not going to pay a penny I would rather go to prison! The whole system is corrupt!”

Judge Peter Heywood replied: “There is no need to take that attitude.”

The Herald has emailed the police press office to confirm that police vehicles in Dyfed-Powys have no CCTV. As yet there has been no response.