Man convicted of abusing traffic warden in Melksham

A man has been convicted of using threatening and abusive behaviour towards a Wiltshire Council Civil Enforcement Officer in Melksham.

Thomas Russell Callaghan of Canon Square, Melksham, pleaded guilty at Salisbury Magistrates Court on 11 June 2021, to two charges of using threatening, abusive, insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm and distress to an officer as they were issuing the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).

He has been sentenced to a community order and must now undertake 40 hours of unpaid work within the next twelve months. He was also issued with a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement to attend appointments with a responsible officer and is required to pay a total surcharge of £95 to fund victim services.

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Cabinet member for Transport, said: "Civil enforcement officers do an important job in the county and to be subjected to any form of abuse whilst doing their job is simply unacceptable, so I am very pleased that we have had a conviction in this case

"The council does not tolerate abuse of our staff and we would look to prosecute anyone found doing so".