"It was a friend's trailer. I'd just had new tyres put on so it would pass a warrant. I told the officer that's where I was going was to get a warrant of fitness test done."
Mr Wrightson declined to pay the ticket because he believed he was legally able to take the trailer on the road if it was safe and he was on his way to get it tested. He was taken to court but at a second hearing police withdrew the charge.
As a result Mr Wrightson felt he had had a rough deal and wrote to the Independent Police Complaints Authority, who ruled he had been dealt with appropriately.
A police spokeswoman Rachel Purdom said in many situations officers could exercise their discretion as to whether or not to begin enforcement proceedings, for example, by issuing an infringement notice.
"In a situation where a vehicle or trailer is found to have a warrant of fitness that expired less than a month ago, an infringement notice will generally be issued," Ms Purdom said.
However, the infringement notice could be waived if the driver was able to prove within two weeks a warrant had been obtained.
She said any person in this situation could contact the Police Infringement Bureau (PIB) in writing and provide an explanation.
The PIB would consider the explanation and may waive or cancel the infringement notice, depending on the circumstances.
