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England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions >> Ashton v Crown Prosecution Service [2005] EWHC 2729 (Admin) (09 November 2005) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2005/2729.html Cite as: [2005] EWHC 2729 (Admin) |
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QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
DIVISIONAL COURT
Strand London WC2 |
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B e f o r e :
MR JUSTICE PENRY-DAVEY
____________________
NORMAN ASHTON | (CLAIMANT) | |
-v- | ||
THE CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE | (DEFENDANT) |
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Smith Bernal Wordwave Limited
190 Fleet Street London EC4A 2AG
Tel No: 020 7404 1400 Fax No: 020 7831 8838
(Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)
MR E HICKEY (instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service) appeared on behalf of the DEFENDANT
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Crown Copyright ©
"a) A vehicle used for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes;
b) An ambulance being a vehicle... which is constructed or adapted for the purposes of conveying sick, injured or disabled persons and which is used for such purposes."
They found that the Mitsubishi Shogun was not an emergency vehicle as defined, and that there was a contravention of Regulation 16 which provides:
"No vehicle, other than an emergency vehicle, shall be fitted with
a) a blue warning beacon."
In the light of that finding, there was no exemption from speed limit or traffic sign compliance, and the other two convictions necessarily followed.
"An ambulance being a vehicle... which is constructed or adapted for the purposes of conveying sick, injured or disabled persons and which is used for such purposes."
This vehicle was neither constructed, adapted or used for the defined purpose. In my judgment, the answer to each of the questions posed is yes.
"... one which is special to the facts of the particular case, that is special to the facts which constitute the offence. It is, in other words, a mitigating or extenuating circumstance not amounting in law to a defence to the charge, yet directly connected with the commission of the offence and one which the Court ought properly to take into consideration when imposing punishment. A circumstance peculiar to the offender, as distinguished from the offence, is not a special reason within the exception."
"the overriding need to get to his works depot to collect a liveried private ambulance."
Seems to be descriptive of an emergency situation, but it is difficult to distil from the stated case whether or not it was a genuine emergency.