Motorist's ban for driving over 130mph on A55 in Ewloe

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-29170648

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A motorist caught speeding on the A55 in north Wales at more than 130mph told a court he was late for a garage appointment and had put his foot down.

Electrician Neil Edwards, 24, admitted speeding in a Vauxhall Corsa at Ewloe in February.

Edwards, of Mynydd Isa, near Mold, was banned from driving for 12 weeks and fined £300 with £115 costs.

Magistrates said his speed was off the scale and so grossly excessive it was well off their sentencing guidelines.

Job at risk

Prosecutor Gareth Jones told the court that police recorded Edwards's speed at 131.5mph at 16:10 BST on 15 February.

The road was wet, but it had stopped raining and traffic was light.

When officers stopped Edwards, he told them he was on his way to Demon Tweeks in Wrexham and asked: "Is there nothing we can do about this?"

The prosecutor said that such cases were sometimes charged as dangerous driving because of the excessive speed but the defendant had been charged simply with speeding.

Phillip Lloyd Jones, defending, said there was no excuse for driving at such a speed.

The defendant was late, he bitterly regretted his actions and fully co-operated when stopped, he said.

Edwards had been given good advice by his family about the dangers of such speed and had promised not to behave like that again, Mr Lloyd Jones added.