A BUSINESSMAN was left astonished after he was stopped by a police officer and told to present his documents ... because he had a misted up rear window. Norman Ward, owner of Huntingdon Dental Laboratory, said he was driving round Huntingdon ring road and

A BUSINESSMAN was left astonished after he was stopped by a police officer and told to present his documents ... because he had a misted up rear window.

Norman Ward, owner of Huntingdon Dental Laboratory, said he was driving round Huntingdon ring road and had just passed the police station when a patrol car started to follow him.

He told The Hunts Post: "I had just turned into St Mary's Street, Huntingdon, when she flashed at me and I stopped and got out.

"It was so over the top. The worst thing was that I was told my rights. She recited the line about things I said being used in evidence - for a misted up windscreen. I couldn't believe it."

Mr Ward, 55, who was in the car with his partner Charlene Ives, said: "The officer was a young woman on her own. She went on the radio to make sure the car was not stolen.

"She could see that it was taxed and I am insured. I not only had to take my documents to the station, but she had asked for everything to be written down so the police officer on duty there had to spend time filling in forms.

"This was a silly waste of time and money and I felt I was being harassed. I work long hours and I had to go the station during the working day."

He added that on the night he was stopped, Thursday, November 16 at 9pm, several vehicles - another car, a van and a people carrier - had passed him all with their windows misted up.

Mr Ward said: "I have been working in Huntingdon for 40 years, my father was a former policeman and I think I am a respectable person."

A police spokesman said: "The driver was stopped after an officer saw his rear windscreen was heavily misted up. However, all other windows were clear and so he was not pursued for any offence.

"The driver was then asked - as a matter of routine - for his driving licence, insurance documents and MoT certificate. He did not have these and, in accordance with the law, he was given a seven-day period to produce them at Huntingdon police station which he promptly did."

Sgt Chris Clare, of the road policing unit, said: "It is imperative that drivers make sure all windows are clear before starting their journey and especially not to begin their journey before their windscreen is clear.

"This is even more vital in winter when vehicle windows are more prone to getting misted up."

An RAC spokesman said: "Getting someone to produce their documents the following day for a misted up windscreen is possibly over-policing and going over the top."

INFORMATION: Regulation 30 of the Road Vehicles Regulation 1986 says that all glass or other transparent material fitted to a motor vehicle shall be maintained in such a condition that it does not obscure the vision of the driver while the vehicle is being driven on the road.

n Is this a waste of police resources? E-mail your views, name and address to editor@huntspost.co.uk