GoFundMe set up to help 'good bloke' pay £1,200 fine after he parked vehicle in front of Northamptonshire Police speed camera van

A GoFundMe page has been set up for a man who was fined £1,200 for blocking a police speed camera van in Northamptonshire.

Gavin Lynch parked a van directly behind Northamptonshire Police's enforcement camera on the A5 in Weedon back in April.

The 34-year-old, from St Peter's Way, recorded it and later posted the video on social media.

Mr Lynch rode off on an electric scooter, leaving the van blocking the police's.

However, when he returned 45 minutes later, he had his van seized by police and was arrested for obstruction, riding an electric scooter on a footpath and with no insurance.

He was given a large fine as a result.

The story was met with different reactions, some in defence of the police and some left questioning the use of speed camera vans.

However, Austin Havell, who knows Mr Lynch, decided to set up a fundraising page to help him pay his £1,200 court bill.

But Mr Lynch has requested the funds be donated to Northampton General Hospital's cancer ward as he has already paid the fine with his own money.

However, after receiving complaints about the fundraiser, GoFundMe has now deleted the page, reportedly due to complaints, so no one is able to donate anything anymore.

Before the fundraiser was deleted, the page raised £475 of the total target. These funds will not go to the cancer ward and will instead by refunded back to donors.

The initial GoFundMe note read: "I'm setting up this page to raise funds for Gavin Lynch, one of the pillars of our village.

"He recently made a stand against the police. [The] upshot is the establishment made an example of him and fined him heavily.

"Feel free to give what you can if you wish. This is not intended or needed to become a platform on discussing the rights or wrongs of the speed van. Let's help Gav out. He's a good bloke."

An updated note on the page said: "Gavin has decided all monies raised on this page will now go to Northampton General Hospital cancer ward folks."

Talking to the Chron, Mr Havell said: "The general feeling is it's quite a hefty fine.

"We, as a small community where everyone helps each other, want to help Gav.

"Gav does a lot for the community which goes unheard of and this is an opportunity to give back, no matter what people's views are of speed cameras."

To view the GoFundMe page, click here.