Anger at lenient fine for fake Guisborough road stop policeman

Kevin Armstrong was fined £620 after being found guilty of impersonating a police officer

A fine given to a man who pretended to be a police officer to pull over a female motorist was too lenient, women's campaigners have said.

Kevin Armstrong, 63, used flashing lights fitted to his car to stop Morium Akther, 24, near Gateshead.

He was fined £620 by South Tyneside magistrates after being convicted of impersonating a police officer.

Ms Akther said he was "creepy". The National Centre for Domestic Violence said the fine was "not a deterrent".

Ms Akther said she was driving to work when Armstrong, of Farndale Drive in Guisborough, near North Yorkshire, drove up behind her flashing white LED lights from his dashboard.

She said she stopped on a slip way as she believed he was a police officer.

Armstrong told her she was speeding and driving dangerously and that he was going to issue her with a speeding ticket.

Morium Akther said she believed she was being stopped by a real police officer

When she denied this, he told her "we can either do this the nice way or the nasty way".

He then left when another motorist intervened having realised he was not a real police officer.

Ms Akther, from Newcastle, said: "He seemed very creepy and his tone was aggressive.

"After I drove away I thought about how it could have been so much worse.

"I kept thinking that I could have been hurt or killed.

"When he was pulling me over, I didn't think I was in danger as I believed he was a legitimate police officer."

'Frightening'

Sharon Bryan from the National Centre for Domestic Violence said the sentence was too lenient.

She said: "Whatever buzz or thrill he gets from doing this will outweigh the punishment he's received.

"The frightening thing is we don't know what could have happened if someone hadn't intervened.

"It's not dramatic to say that if these behaviours aren't stopped they can lead to more violence and women being killed."

Ms Akther said she wanted "other women to be aware of people like this on the roads", adding: "The police told me if you are ever in doubt, drive to the closest police station or call 999 and ask for their badge.

"If they can't give those details, drive until you feel safe."

Armstrong also had three points added to his licence after pleading guilty to driving a vehicle and stopping it on a road designated as a clearway, permitting a vehicle to remain at rest on a road so as to involve a danger and using a vehicle on a road which automatically emitted a flashing light. He was also given 120 hours unpaid work.

Impersonating a police officer can lead to imprisonment for up to six months.