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WEST WALTON: Killer road speeder clocked at 161mph

The fastest speeder in Britain was clocked doing 161 miles per hour - more than twice the limit - on the A47 in West Norfolk, it has been revealed.

Yesterday, it was confirmed that the motorcyclist caught at West Walton had only received a six-month ban and a £100 fine for careless driving in connection with the incident last summer.

The maximum fine for careless driving is £5,000, though the courts are not forced to issue bans for such offences.

The case, which was condemned by senior officers and politicans, came to light after a Freedom of Information request.

But campaigners fighting to secure improvements to the road have insisted that the incident should not undermine the fight to ensure that more of the route linking Lynn with Norwich, Peterborough and the Midlands is dualled.

North West Norfolk MP Henry Bellingham, who is working with all the county’s MPs on the issue, said yesterday: “We must keep the pressure on.”

A Freedom of Information request by price comparison website confused.com, which was published on Friday, revealed the worst cases of speeding captured by police on the country’s roads during 2012.

A Norfolk Police spokesman later confirmed that the West Walton case had happened on the afternoon of July 17 and involved a 36-year-old male motorcyclist from Wisbech.

Mr Bellingham said he was “appalled” by the case and said dual carriageways should not be seen as “an invitation to put your foot down.”

But he added: “All the evidence shows that dual carriageways are safer. The majority of fatal accidents happen on single carriageway roads which are often inadequate.

“There are still large parts (of the A47) that are totally substandard.”

Chief Insp Chris Spinks, the head of roads policing in Norfolk and Suffolk, agreed with Mr Bellingham that dual carriageways were safer, but insisted that other roads were not automatically dangerous on their own.

“The danger comes when you add traffic and the human aspect of it,” he said.

Referring to the specific case, he added: “This motorcyclist is fortunate they were not hurt and did not injure anyone else as a result of their recklessness. Speed limits are in place for safety reasons and we will continue to deal with drivers who are flouting the law.”

But he said the West Walton stretch was not a notorious area for such offences.

 

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