A BURY businessman who put up a sign describing a vandal as a “dirty pervert drug dealing grass” has had a public order charge against him dropped.

Instead, Nazier Din has accepted a caution, admitting that he failed to take down the sign when ordered to by police officers.

The move comes after he originally appeared before Bury magistrates in November after being charged with the offence.

Welcoming the decision, he said: “This was a waste of public time and money. The whole thing was a big farce. The past two months have been absolutely horrible.”

Last year, the 44-year-old was arrested hours before the chipboard sign outside his accident management and car hire MCM Ltd premises in Walmersley Road was scheduled to be taken down after police said they had received complaints.

An angry Mr Din originally put up the sign after a brick was thrown though his office’s front bay window, causing £2,000 worth of damage.

Later, after being threatened with arrest, he taped over the word “pervert”. And mindful of possible complaints, he added the words: “Apologies: this sign is not meant to offend the general public.”

After being arrested, he appeared in court charged with the use of threatening, abusive, insulting words, behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm and distress.

But according to Mr Din: “The magistrate said he didn’t think this was a case that ought to have been brought to court and said that all the sides involved should try to sort it out. The case was adjourned until March.”

Last week, however, the charge was effectively dropped when Mr Din accepted a caution.

“I feel vindicated now,” he added. “The matter is done and dusted and the simple caution is because I did not listen to the police. I’d been arrested in the morning when the sign was due to have been removed that afternoon.

“At the end of the day, I was guilty of putting up the sign but was not guilty of causing offence.

“We also got up a local petition which 2,500 people signed, saying that they did not think the sign was offensive. We gave that to my solicitors.”

Mr Din added: “The police had their hands tied as they have to chase up every complaint made to them. I want to praise the local area policing team in Bury who throughout this have been good to me and my family.”