A27 speeder: Smirking stockbroker in court after being clocked doing 141mph in West Sussex

James Linton, 24, ‘showed a complete disregard for other motorists’ when clocked driving a £90,000 Audi R8 soft-top at ‘dangerous speeds’ on the A27 in Sussex in April this year

Police said Linton was caught on camera ‘smirking’ as he reached 141mph.

He was also seen undertaking a vehicle at 86mph as he approached an exit slip road for Devil’s Dyke on the eastbound carriageway at 6.45pm on April 7.

Two minutes later he was spotted travelling in the opposite direction on the westbound carriageway, where an officer measured his speed at 141mph.

Officers from Sussex Police’s Roads Policing Unit (RPU) located Linton the next day when he was driving in Worthing, West Sussex, and he was arrested.

When interviewed it emerged that 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 bought the black Audi for nearly £90,000 on March 7.

Linton, of Worthing, admitted that he was the driver at the time of the offences, but said he could not remember speeding.

The self-employed stockbroker was charged with dangerous driving and with two counts of speeding at 86mph and 141mph on the A27.

Linton admitted the charges when he appeared at Worthing Magistrates’ Court.

He was banned from driving for two years and given a 12-week suspended prison sentence.

Magistrates also ordered him to complete 300 hours of unpaid work, 10 rehabilitation activity requirement sessions (RAR), and pay a £128 victim surcharge as well as £85 court costs.

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

PC Stephen Watson, of Sussex Police's 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.’

He added: ‘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.’