Ananova:

A man has been fined £80 for giving a speed camera the finger.

Simon Thompson, 41, gave the middle finger when he spotted the mobile camera as he drove home from work within the speed limit.

Half an hour later two policemen who had been operating the device knocked on his door - and handed him a fixed penalty notice for making offensive gestures under the Public Order Act.

Simon from Colchester, Essex, said: "I accept what I did was foolish and it wasn't my finest hour. But this shows the police have got their priorities completely wrong.

"I wasn't giving the officers the finger, I was aiming my anger at the camera. I've got as much contempt for speed cameras as everyone else. I'm a careful driver. My licence has been clean for ten years."

Essex Police said: "The man received the fine because he was seen to gesture several times to officers operating a mobile speed camera in an obscene and offensive way."