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A police driving instructor who clocked 122mph in an unmarked patrol car on the way to a private meeting was cleared of 11 speeding offences today.

PC Paul Brown, 48, also jumped red lights and used the powerful BMW X5's sirens and lights intermittently during the 17-mile round trip to discuss his son's education at a college.

But in court today, the officer claimed he was practising his driving skills to ensure they were "up to scratch".

He was cleared of 16 driving offences, including 11 for speeding, four of jumping red lights and one of driving on the wrong side of a keep left marker.

(Image: East Anglia News Service)

Anne Walker, chairwoman of the bench at Suffolk Magistrates' Court, said there was no agreed policy or rules for how police instructors should do their own training and record it.

"We cannot be sure that Mr Brown did not undertake these two journeys while carrying out his own CPD (Continued Professional Development)," she added.

But Mrs Walker called for Norfolk and Suffolk Police to draw up new procedures with regard to how driving instructor training was carried out and recorded.

The court in Ipswich heard Brown was given permission to borrow the BMW in April last year but hit speeds of 122mph on the A11 and 101mph through a temporary 30mph limit.

(Image: East Anglia News Service)

He also drove at 85mph on a 30mph limit road at Eaton, Norwich, and 86mph in a 40mph zone.

Dashcam footage of the journey, played in court, showed cars and lorries pull over and stop to allow Brown to pass on his way to City College Norwich, where his son was studying at the time.

When a colleague at Norfolk Police became suspicious of Brown, he checked the car's data recording equipment and raised concerns to superiors.

But since then, Brown has insisted he was carrying out CPD and had told colleagues about his plans in advance.

Harry O'Sullivan, prosecuting, said the dad, a Norfolk Police driving instructor since 2016 and an officer for 18 years, had not been authorised to use the car for his training while driving alone to and from the college.

"What is in dispute is that he as a serving police officer had been acting under legal exemption to road traffic laws such as speeding and jumping red lights," the lawyer said.

"PC Brown was late for a meeting and drove the way he did, not out of concern to keep his driving up to scratch and perform CPD, but because he was late.

"The manner of driving is consistent with a police officer abusing a vehicle and abusing his position to force his way through rush hour traffic to get somewhere in time."

(Image: Google)

And PC James Waller, then a senior driving instructor at the force, denied Brown had told him that he was going to carry out CPD at the time.

The officer, now with Scotland Yard, added: "He said it was regarding his son and it was a personal matter. I didn't ask any more about it.

"My understanding was that it was for a private meeting and I was surprised to see that blue lights had been used. There were several occasions when the speed of the vehicle had gone beyond the speed limit.

"It did surprise me and I was a bit disappointed because the vehicle had been given on an ad hoc basis for a private matter and a private journey. I was not expecting it to have been driven in this way.

"We have an unwritten rule that for small journeys like this, we have been able to use driving school vehicles."

"Journeys to private matters are not normally taken for CPD. I don't have any issue with the purpose of the visit. It was the way that the vehicle was being used on the journey."

Des Pooley, the head of the joint Norfolk and Suffolk police driving instruction unit, confirmed that there was no local written down policy about CPD training, other than a requirement that officers undertake it.

But PC Brown made no comment in a police interview.

Giving evidence in court, he said: "I wanted to keep my driving skills up to scratch. If my standards fall short, my credibility goes out of the window.

"It was a personal appointment. It was a 15 minute or 20 minute drive and it would give me what I needed - a bit of a refresh to double check my skills."

He denied driving fast to get to his appointment on time, saying: "It's wholly wrong, utter nonsense".

Fraser Cox Hill, defending the father, said: "There is simply insufficient evidence for conviction. There is no dispute about the driving that took place or the speeds achieved."