Driver avoids six-month ban over 'inadequate' sign

A driver who racked up 12 penalty points within seven days on the same stretch of road has avoided a potential six-month ban after a court heard the signage was "inadequate".

A rogue 50mph sign in a 40mph zone is thought to have led to hundreds of people getting speeding tickets along the A20 at Sidcup, south-east London.

Bromley magistrates instead banned Jamie Foster from driving for 28 days.

Transport for London (TfL) said the signage had since been improved.

Mr Foster's mother Shirley, from the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, said: "Jamie's had a clean licence as a lot of people have. It was inadequate signage, that's what we've said all along - that was the mitigation."

'62,000 offences'

Regular users of the stretch of the A20, eastbound between Sandy Lane and Cookham Lane, said the problems began last autumn when the speed limit was reduced from 70mph to 40mph - but a rogue 50mph sign was put up by a third party, according to TfL.

Drivers claimed the signage was not clear or frequent enough but the Metropolitan Police said one incorrect 50mph sign was displayed, at most, between 17 and 25 January.

The solicitor representing Mr Foster, 28, said as many as 62,000 offences may have been committed in six weeks.

A small group of people who were also served Notices of Intended Prosecution by the Met Police for speeding on the A20 sat in the public gallery at Bromley Magistrates' Court.

The Met previously said drivers fined for speeding on the section of road would not have their penalties waived.

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