'No excuses' says speedy van driver (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

'No excuses' says speedy van driver

BUILDER Nicholas Townley admitted he had no excuse for driving at more than 50mph in a busy Warminster street.

Police clocked Townley's Mercedes 311 van at an average speed of 53.2 mph in Victoria Road on October 1 2004.

Townley, 20, admitted speeding in a 30mph zone when he appeared before magistrates in Chippenham on Monday.

Defending himself, Townley said: "All I can say is that I was 22mph over the speed limit, which is unacceptable.

"The route I took was the wrong one, but I had no excuse to go at that speed."

Townley said he failed to slow when the speed limit dropped from 60mph to 30mph as the road entered Warminster.

He pleaded with magistrates to let him keep his licence because he would otherwise lose his job.

Townley, of Harry Stoke Road, Stoke Gifford, Bristol, had his licence endorsed with six points and, was fined £100 and ordered to pay £35 costs.

Residents in the Victoria Road area have repeatedly complained that speeding traffic is putting their safety at risk.