Gillis’ barrow in happier times

A Brackaville builder has described the actions of the PSNI as ‘petty’ after he received a speeding caution whilst pushing a wheelbarrow down to Coalisland to get its tyre fixed.

Fonsie Gillis (58) was snapped on the downhill slope on Barrack Street pavement going at 8mph outside a school crossing with a 5mph speed limit. Gillis, who initially told the police he was ‘Dr Who’ when cautioned at the bottom of the hill, maintains the PSNI traffic controllers were being petty:

“Anyone who has wheeled a wheelbarrow down Barrack Street knows the thing can get away from you if you’re not careful. Instead of fighting the barrow, I went with it and ran at a steady pace. I even saw the police sitting in a van with the hair-dryer but never did I think they were monitoring me in a million years. There were motors flying past me.”

Gillis, who was as far as Dixon Court when he was eventually stopped, maintains he was going to a hardware store in Coalisland to fix a wobbly wheel. A close friend explained how feelings were running high in the area since the incident:

“Fonsie loved that barrow. He’d go everywhere with it. We’re not happy with what appears to be a deliberate sting on Gillis all because last week he legally parked it in the last parking space in Coalisland, forcing a PSNI motor to park miles away.”

A PSNI spokesman confirmed they issued a £90 fine to a 58 year old Brackaville man claiming to be ‘Dr Who’ for travelling at 8mph on Barrack Street in a restricted speed section of the road.

Gillis has 90 days to pay the fine and has been banned from operating wheelbarrows or any other small hand propelled vehicles. The wheelbarrow in question has been confiscated for the duration of the fining period.