Express & Star

Driver caught speeding on motorway as he returned from wedding ordered to pay big fine

A driver caught charging through a temporary speed restriction as he returned from a wedding has been ordered to pay more than £1,000.

Published
Jonathan Lea was caught speeding on the M5. Photo: Google

Magistrates at Worcester Justice Centre handed Jonathan Lea a £900 fine after a speed camera captured him driving at 83mph on the M5 when the speed limit was reduced to 50mph.

The camera, located on the northbound carriageway between junctions 5 for Droitwich and 4a for the M42 flashed at 10.51pm on May 29 last year when the Skoda Lea was driving went past.

In his mitigation, the 37-year-old from Cloister Drive in Halesowen, said he was returning from a wedding in Gloucester at the time.

"While driving, the gantries on the M5 were blank," he said. "As I approached the aforementioned gantry, a warning sign illuminated and informed me that the speed was reducing to 50mph and that there was a lorry in the hard shoulder."

Lea said he was flashed but immediately slowed to ensure the safety of those in his car and the lorry driver.

Lea, who admitted exceeding a variable speed limit, said he had never had an incident of speeding on a motorway in 20 years of driving and had been on one speed awareness course in the past.

The court fined him £900 and ordered him to pay £110 and £90 in costs and surcharge respectively. His licence was also endorsed with six penalty points.