A woman was fined for holding an apple while performing a maneuver in a car. Aside from the absurdity of this, it cost the government far more to prosecute her than what they obtained from the fine:
A NURSERY nurse was fined £60 yesterday for holding an apple in her hand while driving around a bend after police used a spotter aircraft, a helicopter and a patrol car to win the case.
Northumbria Police went to extraordinary lengths to gather evidence against Sarah McCaffery, 23, who had missed breakfast and grabbed the apple to eat on her way to work. Magistrates ruled that she had not been in full control of her car. Miss McCaffery was also ordered to pay £100 costs at the tenth court hearing of the case.
Chris Kay, for the prosecution, said that the bill was £425, not including the aerial photographs and the squad vehicle’s video. The full cost of bringing the case against Miss McCaffery is thought to have been about £10,000.
