Businessman, 58, who mounted jamming device on his BMW to block police speed cameras is jailed for three months
- Michael Twizell was driving BMW 3-series in Harrogate when device was spotted
- Gadget just above the car number plate generates an error message in system
- 58-year-old was jailed for perverting the course of justice and fined £1,500
A businessman has been jailed after he tricked a speed camera by attaching a jamming device to the front of his BMW.
Michael Twizell managed to outsmart a police safety camera van parked on the side of the A658 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire with his laser jamming device last February.
Police launched a probe when the camera system flashed up with an error message – suggesting someone had tampered with it.
The 58-year-old who lives in a large £400,000 house in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was sentenced to three months in prison at York Crown Court today and ordered to pay a £1,500 fine for perverting the course of justice.
The jamming device works by blocking the signal used to monitor how fast cars are travelling.
Michael Twizell (pictured on social media in 2017) managed to outsmart a police safety camera van parked on the side of the A658 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Twizell (pictured with racing driver Tiff Needell) was sentenced to three months in prison at York Crown Court today and ordered to pay a £1,500 fine for perverting the course of justice
Michael Twizell managed to outsmart a police safety camera van parked on the side of the A658 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire last February by attaching a jamming device (circled below) to his BMW 3-series, triggering an error message (circled above)
The jamming device (pictured) works by blocking the signal used to monitor how fast cars are travelling
Investigators discovered the device fixed to the front of his BMW 3 Series and arrested him.
Sentencing, the judge told Twizell: ‘The police have a duty to protect us from speeding vehicles’, adding that the device Twizell used interfered with that process.
He said perverting the course of justice was a ‘serious’ offence and the courts ‘must stop people offending in this way’, adding that he had no choice but to impose an immediate custodial sentence.
Speaking after the hearing, Traffic Constable Andy Forth, from the Traffic Bureau Investigations team at North Yorkshire Police, said: ‘To use this device which was capable of interfering with police speed measurement is clearly, as shown today, a very serious matter.
‘Drivers may face a custodial sentence for using such a device in this way.
‘North Yorkshire Police will continue to investigate similar allegations when people use these devices to interfere with the normal course of justice.
‘I advise anyone who may have a similar device fitted to their vehicle to think about the consequences of using such a device and strongly recommend that they remove it from their vehicle to avoid a future prosecution.’
Investigators discovered the device (pictured) fixed to the front of his BMW 3 Series and arrested him