Disabled bay bobby was on 999 call

Dyfed-Powys Police have confirmed that the policeman snapped by a MyWelshpool 'citizen journalist' parked in a supermarket disabled bay was responding to an emergency call.

The picture sparked an online debate over the abuse of disabled parking zones with one reader accusing authorities of “throwing round disabled badges like confetti”.

But it appears that in this particular incident, the officer parked in Morrison’s Car Park had good reason to be there.

Inspector Matt Scrase said: “The officer was responding to an immediate call involving suspected thieves. There had been two similar incidents that day, so it was vitally important that we acted as quickly as possible to track down those responsible as we believed these people were organized career criminals, and would target other businesses.

“I understand that parking where the officer did may have caused some inconvenience, and for that I apologise. But in the circumstances it was necessary.

“Inquiries into this incident remain ongoing and if anyone has information I’d urge them to come forward and call us on 101.”

The picture was sent to us through the contact us function on our app which allows smart phone users to snap a picture and send it to us instantly. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, visit http://www.mywelshpool.co.uk/mobile.aspx