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Rest stop stays open, judges rule

MINEHEAD, England, July 20 (UPI) -- A couple in England, claiming that a highway rest area turned their adjacent garden into a public urinal and a dumping ground, lost their case in court.

John and Cherry Pusey of Minehead, Somerset, installed a camera on their property and recorded over 500 people, between 2005 and 2010, using the rest area, referred to in Britain as a "lay-by", as a bathroom, and told judges the stop on Route B3224 had become a focus for petty theft, vandalism, fly-tipping (the British term for littering) and anti-social behavior, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.

The Puseys claimed the activities interfered with their "reasonable enjoyment" of their home and garden. But in refusing to order the Somerset County Council to close the rest stop, the three presiding Appeal Court judges ruled that motorists' misbehavior, however annoying, did not amount to a "nuisance" in the eyes of the law.

Lord Justice Patten, one of the judges, added that "This is to some extent an indication of the obsession which they (the Puseys) have developed with the use of the lay-by," noting the couple had been complaining about the situation since 1993, and that other local residents preferred to keep the rest area open to motorists.

British police affix cameras to dogs

STAFFORD, England, July 20 (UPI) -- Police in Staffordshire, England, said they will strap cameras to the heads of police dogs to help gather evidence during busts.

Staffordshire police said 20 police canines with their dog support unit will be outfitted with FidoCam technology during the next 12 months to give officers a dog's-eye-view in situations including drug busts and foot chases, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.

"This bit of kit is fantastic -- it attaches to the dog's head and we can get a live view of what they are seeing," Inspector Chris Dawson said.

"There are many situations when this technology will be beneficial to our officers. If we are searching for a dangerous person we can send the dog into a building with the camera to search for them and then when they indicate a find by barking, we will be able to see exactly what or who they have found.

Man cleared of charges in airport strip

PORTLAND, Ore., July 20 (UPI) -- An Oregon man who stripped naked to protest airport security screenings has been cleared of indecent exposure charges.

Multnomah County Judge David Rees cleared John Brennan, 50, of Portland, of indecent exposure charges, agreeing with the man's defense that he was practicing his freedom of speech when he stripped down at a Portland International Airport checkpoint to protest what he views as invasive Transportation Security Administration screening procedures, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Thursday.

"It is the speech itself that the state is seeking to punish, and that it cannot do," Rees said.

Prosecutors argued Brennan had violated a Portland city ordinance banning the exposure of one's genitals in front of the opposite sex in a public place.

DJs host 'Fifty Shades' burning party

CLEVELAND, July 20 (UPI) -- A pair of Ohio DJs who held a book burning for the "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy said they were "giving voice to people who think it's a piece of garbage."

Chad Zumock and Alan Cox, DJs for WMMS-FM, Cleveland, said they received a lot of calls from fans about how "horrible" the book series by E.L. James is, so they decided to host a book-burning party at Panini's in Westlake during their afternoon drive time show Wednesday, WJW-TV, Cleveland, reported Thursday.

"This is giving voice to people who think it's a piece of garbage," Cox said.

Zumock said the books contributed to a friend's divorce.

"Men can't live up to this book, and it becomes an issue," Zumock said. "They're more interested in this and go to bed alone."

WKYC-TV, Cleveland, said at least one female fan used a fire extinguisher in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue the novels.