"On February 23 1963 Peter Hicks [...] parked his Land Rover in Marylebone. A police constable passing by heard a ticking noise emanating from the vehicle. He looked inside. He touched the door. And he received an electric shock. The officer called his sergeant over. He too touched the car. He too received a jolt. Mr Hicks had been watching. He approached the policemen and revealed that he had wired his Land Rover to a device normally used to electrify cattle fences. He saw his vehicle as his property. To keep wandering hands off, he had electrified it. His orginial enemy targets were thieves but he’d moved on to traffic wardens, who had been introduced to London on September 19 1960 and were costing him over £30 a week in fines." - Mark H

"Mr Hicks wanted to deter these new traffic cops. And if he could have some fun in the process, all to the good. As his son would recall: 'He actually used to deliberately drive around and park his Land Rover in the West End and then go and sit in a pub or a restaurant. He’d get himself a nice window table and park very obviously – and illegally – outside. He and his mates would sit there having a drink or two and a nice bit of lunch watching them trying to ticket his vehicle.' As well as a Land Rover, Mr Hicks operated a fleet of 50 lorries. To protect them and extend his range, Mr Hicks parked his lorries metal bumper to metal bumper behind his Land Rover. Touch any of them and you got a shock. He told the Press: 'Until somebody tells me what law I’m breaking I shall keep up my private war. I have plenty more of these lovely machines. I’ve watched quite a few wardens cop it, trying to put a ticket on my truck. They gave up in disgust – and shock! [it's] harmless, apart from a bit of a flash and a nasty jog.'" - Mark H