Biker who sped at 108mph avoids ban

Magistrates said today they could see "no benefit" in handing a driving ban to a 49-year-old sales engineer who drove a Ducati motorbike at 108mph in a 70mph zone because he had been "stung... and wanted to get home".

Glenn Woods, of Ipswich, Suffolk, was clocked at nearly 40mph above the speed limit as he rode with other bikers on the A14 at Kentford, Suffolk, on August 1, Sudbury Magistrates' Court heard.

Prosecutor Kevin Lowson said Woods told police that "he had been stung by a wasp earlier and wanted to get home.".

Woods, who admitted speeding, said he was riding with a "group of lads" and had been overtaking when he topped 100mph.

"I had been stung by a bee. I know it sounds bizarre. I didn't feel that well," he told the court.

"Over a two-hour period of riding it (the speeding) was probably 20 seconds overtaking."

Magistrates' chairman Colin Reeve told Woods: "It was a very high speed."

But he added: "We cannot see the benefit to society or to you in putting a ban on you."

Woods was fined £300, ordered to pay £65 costs and had six penalty points added to his licence.