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Armed police swoop on trainspotting 'spies'



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Published Date: 21 May 2008
ARMED police swooped on a group of trainspotters who were using a high-powered camera near Gordon Brown's home, it was reported today.
Police were concerned they were spying on the Prime Minister's North Queensferry house.

But the group of six, who call themselves the Steam Boys, were in fact waiting on the top of a hill for a locomotive to cross the Forth Bridge.

The officers were satisfied when the group hastily explained they were more interested in a 1950s steam engine called the Great Marquess than anything inside Mr Brown's house.

Trainspotting enthusiast Brian Sharpe, from Horncastle, in Lincolnshire, reportedly said: "The Steam Boys managed to persuade them they were harmless anoraks – not terrorists. It was certainly an eventful day's spotting."





The full article contains 129 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 21 May 2008 10:35 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

David Harrington,

Edinburgh 21/05/2008 12:24:30
The problem of innocent citizens lawfully going about their business being harrassed by police seems to becoming increasingly common and the police need to get a grip of their officers before someone is killed and we have another Jean Charles tragedy on our hands
2

abracadabra,

Leven 21/05/2008 12:34:27
You have to understand that Fife Police are comparable with some third world para-militaries and can't be compared to the professional Police Forces in the rest of Scotland
3

Maurice,

Fife 21/05/2008 12:34:45
They were watching his house but he's so uninspiring that they turned the cameras and watched trains instead.
4

Agent 99,

21/05/2008 12:39:57
[1] David, you could well be right. Given that you posted 20 minutes ago I trust you've left home/office since the thought polis will no doubt be on their way by now...
5

182,

21/05/2008 12:44:39
Dangerous work trainspotting
6

182,

21/05/2008 12:44:40
Dangerous work trainspotting
7

Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 21/05/2008 12:51:44
Pity they didn't have a high-powered rifle instead.
8

William of Liberton,

EDINBURGH 21/05/2008 12:54:08
And in the meantime how many were killed or injured on inadequately policed Fife roads? Death or injury on the road is an ever-present, every day danger, whereas "terrorism" is, generally, remote and infrequent.
9

fresian,

dubai 21/05/2008 13:14:51
The police suspected that the backpacks they were carrying contained home made explosives. After a controlled explosion, police confirmed that it was in fact a chicken sandwich and a flask of weak lemon drink.

And since when did trainspotters carry club ID cards???
10

steve 1511,

aberdeen 21/05/2008 13:18:43
its good to know that our much maligned police are so alert,and the people who decry them are the first to call them in an emergency and expect them to respond quickly.
11

fresian,

dubai 21/05/2008 13:41:38
Steve, I think the point most people are trying to make is that if you call them in an emergency, they DON'T respond!
12

A Friend of Fernando Poo,

, Newington 21/05/2008 13:49:53
The Fife police harrasseth us.
13

Dutch,

Wyoming - US of A 21/05/2008 13:59:43
Sounds more like East Germany, 1950 than it does a supposedly "Free and Democratic" country.

Well, I don't have much room to criticize... Here in Bush's "Murka", the stench of fear is so thick, one can cut it with a butter-knife. We still have our little (Made in red china) "Standing Tall" bumper stickers and our cheesy "Support the Troops" magnets, and yes, we still mouth "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave" at every public function. But... we've allowed yellow fear to permeate every facet of our daily lives.

We Murkans... just like you Brits... have allowed our government to convince us that there's a bearded, bomb-tossing "Islamofascist" behind every shrub and that the only way we can survive is to surrender our privacy, freedom, rights and liberty to a heavy-handed government.

We ought to be ashamed of ourselves.
14

Teofilio Cubillas,

21/05/2008 14:02:42
The police see a bunch of guys with high powered binoculars near to the Prime Minister's house. They approach the group, at no time drawing their firearms and satisy themselves that they are a group of harmless train spotters. They leave.

The hysterical headline in this rag is that 'Armed Police 'swoop' on trainspotting 'spies'. The usual suspects above respond like Pavlovian dogs with comments about Jean Charles De Menezes and tables legs. Yawn...

To the 'journalist' who wrote this rubbish - get a job writing for the Sun. You get to refer to the Scottish Parliament as the 'Parly' so that the retards understand what you're on about.
15

Ron D,

Enybru 21/05/2008 14:06:16
Dutch, stick to your conspiracy sites.
16

niddrienutters,

Edinburgh 21/05/2008 14:08:12
Its interesting how something obsolete and out of date can attract tourists to North Queesferry?
17

,

21/05/2008 14:11:52
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
18

John Knox furr First Meenister,

High St, Embra 21/05/2008 14:46:29
#12 Aye, but you're in Dubai. Can't expect the Fife polis to attend that quickly!
19

Jock MacTamson 2,

Highlands 21/05/2008 14:57:21
Luckily for them they were not running to catch a train while looking suspicious or they may have found themselves being held down and shot seven times in the head to restrain them.
20

911 was an inside job.,

21/05/2008 15:19:25
It's good to know that armed police are ready to swoop on a bunch of trainspotters, but what happens when feral youths terrorise the local council estate?

Police state Britain.
21

,

21/05/2008 15:27:02
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
22

Neal! Whit? Haud yer Whisht!!,

21/05/2008 15:48:13
And the police DO NOT like Jean Charles being mentioned in conversation either.

In fact they get a bit up-tight about it, I was glad they were only uninformed officers.
23

Neal! Whit? Haud yer Whisht!!,

21/05/2008 15:49:17
Oops, sorry. Of course I meant uniformed officers . . .
24

Teamdroid,

21/05/2008 16:22:08
Indeed #17. I've always thought the 1951 Brown class was a bit of a duffer. Prone to an overheating boiler and no-use for the big jobs, it was notorious as being rather ugly, and a temperamental b****r to drive.

I guess these anoraks prized it merely because it's actually quite difficult to spot, almost like it spends most of its time hiding. Also one of the last known specimens of the class* is heading straight for the buffers at full tilt, so maybe they just decided to grab their chance.

*Apparently there's a couple of others, but one of them is bizarrely being converted to run on nuclear power, while the other's in the knacker's yard already.
25

Peter - very disappointed/concerned,

Edinburgh 21/05/2008 16:58:15
#25 Teamdroid

"the 1951 Brown class was a bit of a duffer"

Teamroid, you don't suppose that this is 'Gordon the Express' friend and colleague of 'Thomas the Tank Engine'?

Steam-powered Saints preserve us!!

26

The Former Mr. Angry,

Perth 21/05/2008 20:23:21
The "terrorists" needn't have bothered. Gordon's managing very well by himself as he gets shunted into a siding permanently!
27

John Blackley,

Florida 21/05/2008 21:21:19
#14 Dutch:
"We still have our little (Made in red china) "Standing Tall" bumper stickers and our cheesy "Support the Troops" magnets, and yes, we still mouth "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave" at every public function."

No we don't.
28

Jason,

Japan 22/05/2008 01:02:40
"High powered camera" Oh my God. We'll all be murdered in our beds. So what exactly is a high powered camera when it's at home? Would that be something you could pick up secondhand for a 100 quid in the unfashionable end of Ginza, Tokyo? The police aren't the only ones that need to chill out, Scotsman.
29

john z,

edinburgh 22/05/2008 21:33:36
More Muppet behaviour by the authorities. Since when do islamic terrorists stand in broad daylight with a big group of friends for hours with big cameras. Islamic terrorists may be pretty dim, but I don't think they are that dim.

No, to quote an american president, "there is nothing to fear but fear itself". That's exactly what it is all about.

All our governments tell us, the big bad bogey man is going to get us, so we need to have our E-mails read and recorded, a full record kept of every online transaction we do, and every telephone call we make recorded. We need to be filmed 24/7, and have to carry a biometric identity card at all times. It is for our own safety, isn't it??

 

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