A man was pulled over by police and questioned over terrorism concerns after he took pictures of police cars parked in a bus stand.
Kieron Power, 54, took the pictures in Kingston town centre after his wife was handed a ticket for stopping in the bay in March.
Road markings labelling the bay, in the Bittoms, had been covered up by the police vehicles, he claimed.
After he snapped the shots and began driving home to Hinchley Wood, he was pulled over by two police cars with blue lights flashing.
He said: “When the first car pincered me in front, and the other one was right up my tail, I thought, ‘Goodness, what have I done?’
“They told me they were stopping me under the prevention of terrorism.
“I had to show them my photos and they wanted them deleted.”
Mr Power, a part-time delivery driver, refused and was allowed to continue home after he explained why he had taken the pictures.
A Kingston police spokesman said: “The man was initially requested to delete the photos, however after the officer clarified the Metropolitan Police Service’s approach towards photography of police officers and vehicles with his supervisors, he realised the man was allowed to keep them.
“The police vehicles parked on the bus stand are part of the Met’s Safer Transport Command and have been given permission by the local authority to park there.”
Police guidance on the Terrorism Act 2000 says: “Members of the public and the media do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places, and police have no power to stop them filming or photographing incidents or police personnel.”
Mr Power said he thought the police ought to have “just come around with it in a gently, gently way instead of the prevention of terrorism”.
He has appealed against the parking ticket, he said.
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