A man spent £30,000 of his savings on a failed legal battle “for justice” over a £100 speeding fine.
71 year old Richard Keedwell said a “seriously flawed” legal system meant fighting the fine had taken nearly three years and used up his sons’ inheritance money. He claims he was wrongly clocked doing 35 in a 30 zone in 2016 whilst on his way to Worcester. Mr Keedwell claimed he “was certainly not doing more than 30mph” in New Road in November 2016.
He told police he had “no case to answer.”
He said: “I was very surprised when a couple of days later I got the NIP. I really could not believe that I had been speeding. It made a simple day out turn very sour actually.”
He said it took four trips to Worcester Magistrates’ Court before his appeal was heard. After losing the case, he lost a further crown court appeal in August. With the help of a video expert he hired, Mr Keedwell concluded there was a camera fault, or the camera picked up the speed of a car in an adjacent lane. It was expected the case would be “fairly quick” but had spent “the best part of £30,000”, including about £21,000 in barristers’ fees and £7,000 in court costs, making the total close to £30,000, not including travel expenses.
Mr Keedwell said he felt guilty his family would miss out and said the case had proved “very stressful”.
“I’m sick and tired at the whole system which is steamrolling ordinary people,” he said.
“I regret the amount of money. I very simply wanted justice.”
