Police confiscate walking stick from retired teacher, 78, because it is an 'offensive weapon'

The Daily Mail ^ | 29 September, 2008 | Daniel Bates

[marktwain]

Sticking point: Philip Clarkson Webb has had to use his spare stick after his other one was confiscated by police They must have known he was a troublemaker the moment they saw him. With his white hair, wax jacket and glasses, 78-year-old Philip Clarkson Webb clearly ticked all the boxes any eagle-eyed policemen would mark as 'danger'.

And as he shuffled along the pavement towards them there was one thing above all they deemed to pose a threat - his walking stick. The officers surrounded the retired classics teacher and informed him the 3ft wooden cane was an 'offensive weapon' and had to be confiscated. Mr Clarkson Webb duly handed it over, but the farce did not end there. When he later went to collect it from his local police station in Southborough, Kent, with his police receipt, he was told it had been misplaced.

It took a string of phone calls for Kent Police to finally admit they had lost it and to offer to buy him a brand new one. Mr Clarkson Webb was caught up by overzealous policing at a climate camp environmental demonstration in Kingsnorth last month. He was not one of the activists at the climate camp but merely paid a visit to attend a seminar on trade energy quotas.

[Rebelbase]

I see older guys walking in the shady side of town every day carrying a golf wedge and there’s no golf course nearby but there are plenty of loose pit bulls and chows.

[razzle9251]

I am going to the sawbones today to schedule a knee replacement. I have been using a Bubbastik for a month or two now and have discovered that not only is it a walking stick but it is a three foot club with a brass head that you can take anywhere: casinos, airports, anywhere!