Yorke escapes speeding charge

LONDON: A speeding conviction against soccer star Dwight Yorke has been overturned by the High Court.

Yesterday judges sitting in London, ruled the case against the Blackburn Rover striker had been “fatally flawed.” Yorke had told the court he should be acquitted because a police form used as evidence did not have his signature on it. The case will have implications for drivers in the UK because of the increase in the use of speed camera evidence in court. Yesterday Mr Justice Owen, sitting in London, agreed a prime facie case against Yorke was set up on an “erroneous basis.” The 31-year-old was convicted by magistrates in Manchester of driving his Porsche 911 at 61mph in Princess Road, Withington, Manchester, in May 2001. However, Mr Justice Owen said because there was no signature on the form to prove the identity of Yorke as the driver the conviction should be set aside. The judge had been told similar cases were spreading “like a virus” to magistrates courts up and down the country. Yorke, who used to play for Aston Villa and Manchester United, had been fined ?350 and ordered to pay ?1,000 costs after his conviction.