A BMW-DRIVING executive who bought a £300 laser "cloaking device" off the internet to dodge speeding fines while clocking up 45,000 miles a year has escaped jail.

Ben Kitto thought he could speed "with impunity" by installing a jammer that rendered his £54,000 motor "invisible" to police lasers.

6 Ben Kitto was given a two-month suspended prison sentence for using a jammer to hide his speeding Credit: Ben Lack

But police in North Yorkshire became suspicious after they recorded error codes when Kitto drove past mobile speed cameras.

They realised the beams from their camera vans were being scrambled by a tiny laser head hidden under Kitto's number plate.

A painstaking investigation traced the black BMW 635D coupe to 41-year-old Kitto's address in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, the following month.

6 The device, sometimes used as a parking sensor, is legal to fit but illegal to use to cloak speed Credit: Ben Lack

They found the car on the drive. It had been fitted with a £300 Laser Elite Jammer - which can be legally bought, sold and fitted as a "parking sensor" but is tuned to the same wavelength as police speed traps.

It was discovered Kitto's coupe already had built-in parking sensors so there was only one reason for the extra gadget.

The gizmo was programmed to intercept an incoming police beam and send a beam back on the same frequency - making it impossible for the car's speed to be recorded.

6 'Gadget man' Kitto admitted buying the device off the internet in 2014, knowing what it could do Credit: PA

The laser blocker also lit up a warning light in the car and sounded a high pitch screeching alarm to tell Kitto he was on police radar.

This all happened in the space of a third of a second, after which the car remained "cloaked" for a further five seconds allowing Kitto to slow down.

By the time the camera zapped him again from the rear he was doing just 53mph on the 70mph road.

But police were able to work out Kitto's original speed by viewing footage of his car on the A64 at Whitwell-on-the-Hill, near York.

Prosecutor Stephanie Hancock told York Crown Court the average speed was 81-89mph.

She added: "At its highest speed the car was doing 91mph at its peak.

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"The defendant very quickly slowed down and the Crown would say it was because the beeping device activated and he was alerted to the speed camera."

Kitto admitted buying the device off the internet in 2014, knowing what it could do.

But he was a "gadget man " and had only expected a "stern warning" for using it.

His dashcam was also recovered by police with 78 clips. Nine showed him travelling at excessive speed.

Kitto, of previous good character, admitted perverting the course of justice and speeding on June 30 last year.

Philip Morris, mitigating, begged for Kitto to be spared jail.

6 Kitto was given a two month suspended sentence and ordered to pay court costs Credit: PA

He said: "He genuinely believed he was not committing an offence of this magnitude.

"He urges anyone with one of these devices not to use it and to throw it away.

"There are no formal sentencing guidelines. He was not aware of the serious predicament he is in.

"And for what? Trying to evade a fixed penalty.

"Even at 91mph there is every likelihood a fixed penalty would have been offered."

Judge Andrew Stubbs QC ordered the device be destroyed and said Kitto had only avoided jail because of his previous good character.

He said it was more important for the salesman, who drives 45,000 miles a year, to get to his appointments than worry about the safety of others.

6 He only avoided jail because of his previous 'good character' and his charity work Credit: SWNS

He imposed a two month sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered him to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. His licence was endorsed with five penalty points for the speeding offence.

Kitto, a national sales manager for a telecoms company, was also fined £1,000 plus £1,200 court costs.

The judge also ordered Kitto pay the cost of the entire police investigation.

This has not yet been worked out but included a 63-page expert report and months of work by traffic cops.

The judge added: "Every driver on the roads of this country knows with the ability to drive and the privilege of a driving licence comes the responsibility to obey the law.

"For you it appears the speed limits were an inconvenience.

"This arrogance led you to fill your car with gadgets both legal and illegal to allow you to operate outside the law.

"You wanted to speed without getting caught and to do so you installed a laser jammer."

He was sparing Kitto immediate prison for the sake of his family and because of his Round Table charity work which had raised thousands of pounds.

6 Traffic cop Andy Forth of North Yorkshire Police who caught Kitto using a jammer Credit: Ben Lack Photography Ltd

Traffic Constable Andy Forth said use of the devices was widespread and police were finding more and more of them.

He said: "They are legal to sell, legal to buy, and legal to fit. But they are illegal to use in this way.

"If you have one of these devices take it off.

"If you are caught speeding it is three penalty points and a £100 fine - or maybe just a speeding awareness course.

"But if you are caught using this sort of device your liberty could be taken away."

Officers were now trained to find the blockers.

They are popular with owners of high performance cars or those who drive for a living and were therefore aware that might pick up penalty points, he added.

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