A motorist caught speeding at more than 145mph on a Hampshire motorway has been disqualified from driving

A motorist caught speeding at more than 145mph on a Hampshire motorway has been disqualified from driving. John Hornby, 62, of Ringwood, pleaded guilty to speeding at 147mph on the M3. The court heard how an officer spotted the Audi S4 he was driving travelling at high speed between junctions 7 and 6 on the northbound carriageway near Basingstoke. It happened on June 13 last year. The hearing was told how PC Jamie Foster recorded Hornby doing an average speed of 147.1mph. Hornby was then pulled over by PC Foster, who was driving an unmarked police car. Prosecutor Paul Matcham told the court that this was “amongst the highest speeds” that he has prosecuted. Play Video Hornby, who had pleaded guilty to the offence, was sentenced in his absence at Aldershot Magistrates Court today. He was disqualified from driving for nine months, fined £325 and ordered to pay £85 in costs and a £32 victim surcharge. PC Foster, from the Joint Roads Policing Unit, said: “We see a lot of things in this job but even I was shocked to see someone driving at such high speeds. “You can see from the footage just how dangerous it was. “He was not only risking his own life but the lives of other innocent road users and that is unacceptable. “It is sheer luck that Hornby’s driving that day did not cause a collision, because if it had the consequences at that speed would have undoubtedly been fatal. “There is absolutely no excuse for such reckless and totally irresponsible driving and we will take action against those who put lives at risk.”