Police send letter to dead man about driving safely

Police have been left red-faced after sending a letter to a man advising him about driving safely – when he was dead.

It was among a number of letters from Sussex Police to motorists who have received speeding tickets, reminding them to drive safely in the new year.

One of them – dated January 25 – was addressed to a Stephen Webber in Lewes, who broke a speed limit in Brighton in January 2017 but who has since died. His daughter Ruby Whitworth, who lives in Brighton, took a photo of the notice and posted it on Twitter with the caption: “Thanks for you [sic] concern but you dont [sic] need to worry about Stephen speeding anymore… hes [sic] dead”

Sussex Police replied to the post, saying: “Hi Ruby, we’d like to offer our sincerest condolences. This initiative was intended to keep the roads of Sussex as safe as possible however, we fully realise in some cases this was inappropriate and we apologise for any distress caused by our letter.”

She took it in good humour, responding: “Thank you, that’s very kind. Unlike some people my mum and I found it hilarious. If he was alive it would have been completely appropriate for him!”

A Sussex Police spokesperson said in a statement: “These letters are part of a trial initiative by Sussex Police trying to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured each year on our roads, as we know that road traffic collisions are often caused by people speeding.

“We are therefore sending these letters to remind people of their responsibility not to speed and to encourage them to commit to changing their driving behaviour this year, keeping our roads safe.”