Dave Pulls Through

Charity event held despite parades laws hassle and missing forms.

BIG-HEARTED charity fundraiser managed to pull TWO cars behind him last week - but only with the permission of the Parades Commission!

Newtownards man David Stitt showed his strength with a Renault Clio strapped to him for a half-a-mile, before pulling two vehicles on the home straight.

But the charity stunt in Ards had to be given 11th hour approval by the commission allegedly because the police lost his notification forms TWICE!

In May, Sunday Life revealed that David had to apply to the commission to stage his tsunami disaster fundraiser, because it was classified as a public procession.

But then the 35-year-old discovered his forms hadn't arrived at the body's office in Belfast. Said an exasperated David: "the police in Newtownards phoned me to say they hadn't received my form, but I told them I'd put it in, and who I'd given it to.

"So, I got another one. But the same thing happened again. It got lost."

When he got the third, he went to the police station and got an officer to sign it.

Added David: "the Parades Commission sent me a letter last Tuesday to basically say that they had given me the go-ahead - as it was a late notification.

"I burst out laughing because, as far as I am concerned, all of this has been a load of nonsense."

A Parades Commission spokesman confirmed that David's event had been "flagged up to us as a late notification", and that his application had been treated as valid.

A PSNI spokeswoman said: "police have no record of a notice of intention to organise a public procession or a street collection being given to police, apart from the late application notice, lodged on July 11."