On Monday I wrote about Jeff Overs, the in-house BBC photographer who was stopped and searched for taking photos of St Paul's at dusk. I also complained that it was only rarely such cases got the high-profile media coverage afforded to Jeff by being Andrew Marr's snapper of choice.
Today, going some way to redress the balance, the Daily Telegraph has brought a similarly nonsensical case to light.
As they report:
Andrew White, 33, from Brighton, East Sussex, had been taking pictures of the festive lights in nearby Burgess Hill on his way to work when two Police Community Support Officers began following him.
The female PCSOs stopped him and asked why he had been taking photos of the lights and whether he was a professional photographer.
Mr White, who works for a financial services firm, was forced to submit personal details to the officers under counter-terrorism laws because officers were concerned he was taking too many photos in a busy area.
Of course, Sussex Police have trotted out the usual 'protecting public safety' excuses but as I said earlier this week, these cases are not isolated.
Maybe it is time that Officers and PCSOs were censured for showing such a complete lack of common sense?
By Dylan Sharpe
- – UPDATE – -
Watch Alex Deane on BBC South Today discussing this incident here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctBv3jbXQOg