Campaigners hail speed appeal win

Dr Will Dehany disputed the validity of the speeding notice

Thousands of speeding tickets could be overturned after a motorist successfully appealed.

Dr Will Dehany, 52, from Maltby on Teesside was caught by a speed van driving his wife's car at 35mph in a 30mph zone on Worsall Road in Yarm.

He argued that a notice requesting the car owner to identify the driver could not be proved to have come from Cleveland Police's chief constable.

Anti-speed camera campaigners say further appeals are likely to follow.

Dr Dehany was given a £60 fine and three penalty points by Teesside magistrates when he was caught speeding in his wife's Opel Astra in October 2004, but his conviction was overturned at Teesside Crown Court on Tuesday.

He said: "Obviously the police constable operating the speed camera cannot issue them all himself, but they should be signed by, or on behalf of the Chief Constable by someone authorised to do that.

'Countless millions'

"In fact, it didn't say anything other than 'Cleveland Police' on the documents. The woman who issues them is simply a clerk."

She had only been authorised to issue notices by the previous chief constable, he added.

Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed campaign which opposes fixed cameras, said: "All those convicted in Cleveland since 2000 on the basis of faulty procedure should now apply to have their fines refunded, licence points removed, and in many cases to be compensated for consequential losses.

"The knock-on effects are massive and will cost countless millions."

A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said: "We note the judgment of the court but until we have time to consider it in detail, it would not be appropriate to comment."