Solicitor Edward Ellis has been fined £300 for jumping a red light, despite claiming that the arresting officer's evid- ence was flawed.

Ellis, 59, of Bridge Street, Osney, Oxford, pleaded not guilty to a charge of contravening a traffic light at West Berkshire Magistrates' Court but was found guilty.

He told the court a car had been travelling behind him at 90mph when he approached the lights at the junction of the A34 and A4 at Newbury and he was committed to driving through.

Thames Valley police traffic officer Pc Philip Hams told the court he had witnessed Ellis approaching the junction in his blue E-reg Honda Civic.

As he watched him, the officer said, the lights turned red. "A short time afterwards, the car crossed the white line - in my opinion making no attempt to stop for the red traffic light."

Pc Hams said he stopped the vehicle and issued a fixed penalty ticket. The officer then showed him a Visual Average Speed Computer and Recorder (Vascar), which he had used to measure the length of time between the light turning red and the solicitor's car crossing the line. It read 0.6 seconds.

Ellis represented himself in court. He said he had been on his way to visit his mother in Bournemouth.

As he approached the lights, Ellis told magistrates, a car was closing in behind him at 90mph. As the lights changed to amber he was already committed to going through. "If I had stopped, I thought he would go into the back of me."

He claimed the Vascar was only designed for measuring a vehicle's speed.

Magistrates found Ellis guilty and fined him £300. He was also ordered to pay £70 costs and his licence was endorsed by three points.

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