Mayor denied 3D rental due to health and safety

A piece of filmmaking genius
A piece of filmmaking genius

Poor Keith Sharp, Mayor of Peterborough, who simply wanted to rent Piranha 3D from his local Blockbuster and was told he couldn't on health and safety grounds.

No three-dimensional Kelly Brook for him, nor the gore of the various people being eaten alive by vicious marine life with a taste for human flesh.

"It's absolutely stupid,' said 55-year-old Mr Sharp. 'It's one of those over-the-top health and safety issues I'm sick and tired of. Things like renting a DVD should be common sense. I've come across idiotic health and safety people in my time and this is up there with the worst of them.'

Whatever you do, do not go into the water

It seems it was all a bit of a mix-up though, as is wont to happen with new technologies.

Blockbuster won't rent you a pair of 3D glasses for reasons of hygiene. Hapless staff at the Peterborough store misinterpreted this and thought it was 3D movies themselves that posed a health risk.

Sure, 3D is good, but it's not quite at the stage where piranhas could literally jump out of the TV and start chomping on your leg.

In any case, old Mayor Sharp already has his 3D glasses, which set him back around £100 a pop, as well as his £2,000 3D TV.

Seems a shame to waste all that on Piranha 3D though, maybe Blockbuster did him a favour after all.

Via Metro

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.