A policeman refused to chase a suspect across fields because he didn’t want to get muddy, it was reported last night.
The officer is said to have rebuffed pleas to pursue a banned motorist who fled after smashing into two cars.
Latvian suspect Marcis Blahins is now believed to have fled the country following the incident near Newmarket, Suffolk, on Saturday night.
Aaron Tokley, 29, whose Mercedes was written off in the crash, was stunned by the officer’s response and accused police of failing in their duties.
Latvian suspect Marcis Blahins is now believed to have fled the country following the incident near Newmarket, Suffolk, on Saturday night
Bricklayer Blahins, 35, allegedly drove his Jeep Cherokee on the wrong side of the road in the village of Great Bradley, before hitting a Mitsubishi Outlander carrying a couple with a girl of four
‘I couldn’t believe it. They were more concerned with their fear of the dark and getting their uniforms muddy,’ he told The Sun. ‘All they needed was a torch and some guts.’ He says Suffolk police missed vital evidence which could have resulted in an arrest.
Bricklayer Blahins, 35, allegedly drove his Jeep Cherokee on the wrong side of the road in the village of Great Bradley, before hitting a Mitsubishi Outlander carrying a couple with a girl of four.
The car went on to collide with Mr Tokley’s Mercedes C220 as he was driving home at around 5.25pm. The barber said he and the Mitsubishi driver jumped out to surround Blahins, who has a disqualification for drink-driving. But in the 25 minutes before officers arrived the suspect managed to flee into neighbouring fields.
Aaron Tokley (pictured), 29, whose Mercedes was written off in the crash, was stunned by the officer’s response and accused police of failing in their duties
When three police cars arrived at the scene, Mr Tokley said he told a constable where the suspect had fled. But he claims the officer said it was dark and that he didn’t want to ‘get muddy’.
Mr Tokley, a father-of-one, said: ‘They didn’t seem to care. Then they started laughing as Suffolk doesn’t have a police helicopter any more and they couldn’t get a dog team. Me and the other driver were stunned. Instead they left it to some locals to go into the fields and have a look.’
Blahin’s car was said to have cloned number plates. He is alleged to have sent a text to saying: ‘I won’t be coming into work, I’ve had a crash. I need to leave the country.’ Mr Tokley says police are also failing to act on evidence he and other motorists have compiled. Another driver says her VW Golf was hit earlier that day. And CCTV allegedly shows the suspect entering a pub three miles from the crash scene.
Friends provided Blahins’ name and address while other witnesses identified him.
Blahins admitted drink-driving, driving while disqualified and having false number plates after he was stopped in his Mazda M6 in Icklingham, Suffolk, in April.
When he posted his experience online, a woman said that she was also hit by Blahins (pictured) earlier on the same day
He was handed a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for a year, on top of a three-year driving ban.
A spokesman for Suffolk Police said of the latest incident: ‘An investigation into the circumstance of the incident is under way. Inquiries are continuing to identify and locate the driver.’
Police have increasingly faced accusations of neglecting their duties to indulge in a series of bizarre antics. Officers in Avon and Somerset painted their nails in a bid to highlight people trafficking. In Cardiff, uniformed officers strutted the streets in heels to raise awareness of domestic violence.