A BASINGSTOKE photographer has been left shocked after he said a man kicked over his tripod and damaged his camera, which will cost thousands of pounds to replace.

Basingstoke Gazette Camera Club member Keith Banks was out with a group of other photographers for a meet up on the bridge which runs between Festival Place and Crown Heights when the incident happened at around 11pm on August 7.

The 60-year-old from Popley told the Gazette: “I don’t know what provoked it but it came as a shock to me. I was taking a photo of the bridge and just moved back a bit to get a better shot and this man came along and kicked my tripod sending my camera to the ground.”

A member of the group took hold of the man and the police were called.

Mr Banks, who is a live-in carer, said his camera will cost almost £3,000 to replace, adding: “The shutter button will now not work and I don’t know if any other damage has been caused. In 10 years of doing night-time photography, I have never had anything like this happen and I travel up and down the country doing something I love doing.

“The cost of a new one is going to set me back £2,888 if it can’t be repaired and I don’t know where that will come from.”

Hampshire Constabulary confirmed that police officers were called to a report of a camera being damaged by a man on the bridge near Alencon Link just before 11pm on Saturday, August 7.

Officers who attended the incident spoke with the owner of the camera and a 58-year-old man who is alleged to have kicked the camera.

Enquiries are ongoing.