Speeding fine a blessing in disguise | Canterbury News | Local News in Canterbury

Nobody likes opening up their letterbox and finding a speed camera ticket in the mail.

But for Dugald Saunders, it proved a blessing in disguise.

The ticket helped the unemployed 43-year-old find his stolen ute, which was allegedly taken from a Phillipstown yard.

It was only when Mr Saunders, who lives by the Ashley River, received the $30 infringement notice last Wednesday that he realised the vehicle was missing.

The ticket had been issued from a speed camera outside a primary school in Granity on the West Coast on March 15.

The ute, which he believed was still stored at the Phillipstown yard, had been photographed travelling 55km/h in the 50km/h area.

After reporting the vehicle stolen to police, Mr Saunders and friend Josh Clark, 18, travelled to Granity to try and get the ute back.

"We knew Granity was not very big," Mr Saunders said.

Failing to find the vehicle there, they spoke to a shopkeeper who recommended they try again in Westport the following day. The pair decided they would search every street in Westport.

They had covered about half the town when they spotted a ute identical to Mr Saunders' parked outside some shops.

"We just got bloody lucky. There's hundreds of utes on the West Coast. (But) I wasn't coming home without it," Mr Saunders said.

After waiting only a few minutes, they saw a man get in the ute and drive off.

"He came around the corner carrying coffee and bait," said Mr Saunders.

They followed the ute to the Westport wharf, and notified police.

"When the police arrived, he was out with his fishing rods," Mr Saunders said.

Westport Sergeant Michael Frost said police spoke to a 51-year-old from Granity at the wharf, and the ute was returned to Mr Saunders.

Sergeant Frost said he was impressed with Mr Saunders' initiative.

"It shows a bit of perseverance," he said.

He said Mr Saunders "did everything right" by phoning police rather than confronting the 51-year-old.

Mr Saunders and Mr Clark returned to Canterbury that afternoon and have since had "a lot of laughs" about the escapade, Mr Saunders said.

He said he would not pay the speeding ticket.

Sergeant Frost said investigations were continuing.