A27: Worthing driver caught speeding at more than 140mph

James Linton, 24 – a self-employed financial stockbroker, of Brighton Road, Worthing – has been given a two-year driving disqualification and a 12-week suspended prison sentence, according to Sussex Police.

It comes after Linton admitted being the driver of the Audi R8, which reached 141mph on the A27 at Hangleton on April 7.

Police said a safety camera team operator from the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership saw Linton ‘smirking’ whilst he reached the excessive speed.

PC Stephen Watson, from Sussex Police’s Roads Policing Unit (RPU) said: “Linton showed a complete disregard for other motorists as he reached dangerous speeds on the A27.

“He was seen undertaking a vehicle at 86mph, then reached 141mph on the westbound carriageway.

“Our speed camera showed him smiling in the vehicle, but he was not as cheerful when he was stopped the next day and asked to hand over the keys.

“This case demonstrates our determination to catch motorists who flout the law. Linton put his own safety and the safety of other road users at risk with his reckless driving.

“Excessive speed is one of the main reasons why we people are killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions.

“So we are pleased that a dangerous driver has been taken off our roads.”

Driver ‘could not remember speeding’

Police said Linton was seen undertaking a vehicle at 86mph as he approached an exit slip road for Devil’s Dyke on the eastbound carriageway at 6.45pm.

“Then two minutes later, he was seen travelling in the opposite direction on the westbound carriageway, where an officer measured his speed at 141mph,” a police spokesperson said.

RPU officers located Linton the next day when he was driving in Warren Road, Worthing, and he was arrested, police said.

The spokesperson added: “In custody it was revealed he had been issued with a section 59 warning that his vehicle could be seized after he was seen driving in an anti-social manner on the same day he had purchased the black Audi for nearly £90,000 on March 7.

“He admitted that he was the driver at the time of the offences, but said he could not remember speeding.”

Linton was charged with dangerous driving and with two counts of speeding at 86mph and 141mph on the A27, police said.

He admitted the charges at Worthing Magistrates’ Court on July 11. He was given a two-year driving disqualification and a 12-week suspended prison sentence.

Police said the court ordered Linton to complete 300 hours of unpaid work, ten rehabilitation activity requirement sessions (RAR), and pay a £128 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

He was told he must complete an extended retest before he is allowed to reapply for his driving licence.

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