Britain's most senior traffic policeman is in court today accused of driving at 90mph in a 60mph zone.

Med Hughes, the chief constable of South Yorkshire, was allegedly clocked speeding on the A5 earlier this year.

Mr Hughes has just stepped down as the head of road policy for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), although his office says that decision has nothing to do with the court case.

Mr Hughes is a stalwart defender of speed cameras, and this year called for them to be hidden in order to catch more offenders. He has gone on record as saying that breaking speed limits is always dangerous, and enforcing them rigidly is the way to save lives.

If found guilty, Mr Hughes could be banned from driving for exceeding the speed limit by more than 30mph.