I’ve only posted this photo to show the absurdity we sometimes face in our country.

In our town centre we have two privately run shopping malls and legally I have no right to take photos there, so tend to do my candids and other shots from public land under the jurisdiction of the borough council. I would only need their permission if was doing a commercial shoot there. This shot is taken from Council land on a public right of way.

So just after I shot this, I was approached by a pair of Community Police Support Officers. These people do not have full police powers and are basically a cheap option to increase uniformed presence on our streets. Having spoken to them, they seem poorly trained too.

Under anti-terrorism legislation, they took up their rights to stop and ask me what I was doing but still went through the procedure of writing out a ticket with my details. They told me I was still entitled to take photos.

But the stupid thing is beyond this view of the outdoor café there is a cul-de-sac road and in the distance an amusement arcade. Hardly a threat to national security. Yet, I can go to the centre of London amongst thousands of tourists in a far more vulnerable place, but would I get stopped? I doubt it, unless I was loitering suspiciously outside MI5 headquarters or some high profile building.

And whilst the two officers do all this chatting and paperwork, they are not undertaking effective policing. It’s crazy and does nothing to get the public on their side!

Anyway, I did establish during my conversation that the officer was the same one who stopped fellow PBaser David Estall here too.

Click here to see David's story of being stopped in Woking