If proof were needed that the law is an ass, you have only to consider the case of Gordon Stables.

At the age of 85, he very sensibly decided to give up driving after he was caught at 38mph in a 30mph zone at Kidlington.

He paid his £60 fixed penalty and handed in his driving licence. That, you might have thought, would be the end of the matter.

But oh no, the law states that a driver must have a driving licence when paying a fixed penalty, and, of course, Mr Stables had given his up.

Now the case will end up before the magistrates, wasting everyone's time and no doubt running up legal fees.

Mr Stables's verdict? "It seems idiotic to the extreme."

How well put.