So zealous

I am in full agreement with the suppresslion of pornography in public places, and I have never craved a personalised number plate. However, in this age of violent crime, was it really necessary for a police superintendent to issue a summons to a former motorcycling star and modern-day truck racing champion, after the Lincolnshire force had stopped his Mercedes-Benz 500SL because the figures on its number plate, PEN 15, were alleged to be spaced too closely. The MoT trades in such numbers and this one, which the police could clearly read, had raised no previous objections in five years. We are told the ‘5’ had not been altered in any way, but if the cops have dirty minds . . .

The ‘culprit’ hadn’t been speeding, so what does ‘wasting police time’ truly mean?