Company director, Timothy Hill, jammed speed cameras with a laser in order to escape fines whilst sticking his finger up at them, a court has heard.

The 67-year-old fitted a laser jammer to his white Range Rover which meant that his speed came up blank.

Hill drove past mobile speed camera vans on the A19 near Easingwold, Thirsk and Crathorne three times in December and each time he was photographed gesturing to the camera with his middle finger.

But his actions were spotted by police, who noted his distinctive personalised registration plate.

When officers traced the vehicle to Hill’s home in the Yorkshire Dales village of Grassington, the businessman threw the device in the River Wharfe, which runs behind his home.