At its peak the condition meant the management worker, who often drives 500-plus miles a week, had to take huge detours simply to avoid speed traps. All this despite the fact the 41-year-old is a qualified advanced driver who has never had a speeding ticket in his life.
Now Norfolk Safety Camera Partnership has stepped in to help. After hearing of Mr Gant's condition, bosses invited him behind the scenes in an attempt to remove the mystery and apparent threat posed by the yellow boxes. And Anxiety UK, which deals with phobias and other disorders, said that though such conditions often remain hidden from the public eye, Mr Gant is far from unique. The charity's own chief executive has the very same phobia.
Mr Gant, a married father-of-two from Lowestoft, said: “I don't think there was any one moment when I suddenly realised it was becoming a problem. There was a growing realisation something was wrong. It started playing on my mind all the time. It was difficult to explain. If you're scared of spiders, people can understand that, but nobody understands this.”
Mr Gant described his phobia as “completely irrational”, saying he found it difficult to pinpoint the precise cause of his anxiety. Only his closest family know about it - he is yet to tell friends and colleagues. Part of the condition was a fear of the unknown and concerns that the cameras could be accidentally triggered, exposing him to an unjust prosecution. He found himself constantly anticipating the next box and often driving several miles on back streets to avoid camera sites.
Insp Marcus Rowe, from the camera partnership, said when he heard about Mr Gant's condition his first reaction was “is this a wind up”. But it soon became clear the problem was genuine. He said: “We basically just explained how we work and tried to remove the mystery. One of his concerns was that he could be unfairly prosecuted, so we explained we work to threshholds designed to eliminate room for error. Prosecution is not our only focus."
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