Pc speed conviction will stay
A Shropshire police officer was driving dangerously when he reached speeds of up to 159mph and should be convicted, a judge has ruled at the end of a landmark case.
A Shropshire police officer was driving dangerously when he reached speeds of up to 159mph and should be convicted, a judge has ruled at the end of a landmark case.
Constable Mark Milton, of Bratton, Telford, appeared before the judge who convicted him nearly 12 months ago at Ludlow Magistrates Court yesterday.
District Judge Peter Wallis took 25 minutes to decide Mr Milton, 41, was driving dangerously while on duty in an unmarked police car in December 2003.
Earlier this year, the judge was ordered by the divisional court to take into consideration Mr Milton's advanced driver training.
But yesterday, after watching the on-board video footage that showed Mr Milton reaching speeds of more than 100mph on the A41 and A5 and up to 159mph on the M54, District Judge Wallis said his opinion was unchanged.
He said: "My decision of dangerousness remains the same."
The sentence he imposed after last year's retrial also remained. Mr Milton was given an absolute discharge, with no fine or penalty points endorsed on his licence.
Mr Milton, first cleared of dangerous driving at a trial in May 2005, told yesterday's hearing he was driving the way West Mercia force had trained him to; that he had been trained to drive at such speeds.
The Director of Public Prosecutions had appealed against the initial acquittal to the High Court.
Judges sent the case for a retrial at Ludlow Magistrates Court and Constable Milton was convicted by District Judge Wallis in August.
Mr David Twigg, Mr Milton's solicitor, appealed against the conviction on a point of law and, in March, two High Court judges said the case needed "reconsideration".
