{"id":20090,"date":"2026-07-28T18:06:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=20090"},"modified":"2026-07-28T18:06:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:06:40","slug":"richard-hammond-slapped-with-speeding-fines-but-denies-failing-to-identify-himself-as-guilty-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=20090","title":{"rendered":"Richard Hammond slapped with speeding fines but denies &#8216;failing to identify himself as guilty driver&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"646\" height=\"389\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_306658568-e5a0-e1785239700651.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29242006\" alt=\"Handout photo dated 2\/12\/25 provided by West Mercia Police of TV presenter Richard Hammond speeding in his Porsche. The former Top Gear host has been fined ?999 by a court after he was caught speeding twice in the space of three weeks while driving his luxury cars. Issue date: Tuesday July 28, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: West Mercia Police\/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.\" decoding=\"sync\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Richard Hammond was caught speeding in his Porsche (Picture: West Mercia Police\/PA Wire)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/richard-hammond\/\">Richard Hammond <\/a>has been fined a whopping \u00a3999 by a Shropshire court after being caught speeding twice in three weeks.<\/p>\n<p>The<a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/11\/02\/bbc-bosses-wanted-replace-top-gear-host-line-up-white-24593129\/\"> former Top Gear presenter,<\/a> 56, was in his Porsche last December when he was snapped speeding by West Mercia police in Pencraig, Herefordshire.<\/p>\n<p>20 days later, he was spotted speeding again while driving his Bentley, leading to the local force bringing two prosecutions against him.<\/p>\n<p>Hammond pleaded guilty through his lawyers to the two charges and at Telford Magistrates Court last week, he was issued seven penalty points on his licence.<\/p>\n<p>The magistrate, Ann Minton, also ordered him to pay two fines \u2013 \u00a3333 and \u00a3666 \u2013 as well as \u00a3240 in costs and victim surcharges totalling \u00a3532.<\/p>\n<p>Court documents show Hammond being caught going 68mph in a 50 by an officer with a handheld speed camera just before 1pm on December 2, 2024.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_260318896-2363.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29243346\" alt=\"LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 27: Richard Hammond looks on during qualifying, ahead of the London E-Prix, Round 16 of the 2025 FIA Formula E World Championship at ExCel London on July 27, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Simon Galloway\/LAT Images for Formula E)\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>He was caught speeding twice in one month (Picture: Simon Galloway\/LAT Images for Formula E)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"520\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_306658574-8a7f.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29242005\" alt=\"Handout photo dated 22\/12\/25 provided by West Mercia Police of TV presenter Richard Hammond speeding in his Bentley. The former Top Gear host has been fined ?999 by a court after he was caught speeding twice in the space of three weeks while driving his luxury cars. Issue date: Tuesday July 28, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: West Mercia Police\/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Telford Magistrates Court handed him over \u00a31k in fines and fees (Picture: West Mercia Police\/PA Wire)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He was then seen on December 20 at 11.45am in his Bentley Continental GT, speeding at 82mph over the A50 Rudhall overbridge, a 70mph zone.<\/p>\n<p>Some confusion came after the <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/tickets\/\">tickets<\/a> were sent to Hammond\u2019s Hereford home, a Grade II listed farm estate.<\/p>\n<p>It was reported last year that Hammond\u2019s ex-wife Mindy wanted to secure their <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/09\/26\/richard-hammond-talks-tough-year-divorce-move-7-000-000-castle-rented-farmhouse-24273709\/\">\u00a37million Bollitree Castle<\/a> in the <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/divorce\/\">divorce<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The 18th-century home, which the couple purchased in 2008, has six bedrooms, a swimming pool and a whopping 20 acres of land.<\/p>\n<p>The letters were apparently returned marked \u2018addressee gone away\u2019, with the TV star instead tracked down at his Abergavenny mansion, worth \u00a32million.<\/p>\n<p>He bought the six-bedroom Georgian property in Monmouthshire in 2012, and has over 30 vehicles registered there.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI_140657265-293a-e1778831831886.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28379209\" alt=\"JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - MARCH 16: (SOUTH AFRICA, UAE, BRAZIL AND TURKEY OUT) British television personalities Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond of the Emmy award winning motoring show Top Gear at the Kyalami Racetrack on 16 March 2011 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Top Gear team will be hosting the Top Gear Festival sponsored by BP Ultimate from 17-20 March. (Photo by Wayne Coetzee\/Gallo Images\/Getty Images)\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>The former Top Gear host denied failing to identify himself (Picture: Wayne Coetzee\/Gallo Images\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Hammond was also prosecuted for two further allegations that he had ignored the police letters and failed to identify himself as the guilty driver.<\/p>\n<p>In a letter to the court, the presenter\u2019s solicitor pleaded guilty to the speeding charges and denied the other two offences, writing: \u2018He replied identifying himself as the driver.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He sent the reply by First Class post. He posted the reply himself.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The police force opted to withdraw those extra charges, as Hammond was prosecuted and convicted for the speeding offences in the Single Justice Procedure \u2013 a fast-track court process which allows magistrates to sit behind closed doors to deal with low-level criminal cases.<\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/07\/09\/man-charged-murder-mum-of-seven-vanished-nearly-30-years-ago-29099742\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Man charged with murder after mum-of-seven vanished nearly 30 years ago<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/07\/02\/16-year-old-boy-hospital-life-threatening-birmingham-shooting-29009549\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">16-year-old boy in hospital after \u2018life-threatening\u2019 Birmingham shooting<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/07\/01\/man-jailed-throwing-boiling-water-officers-arresting-28997755\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Man jailed for throwing kettle of boiling water over officers trying to detain him<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\"><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Comment now<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-comment\" href=\"#social-comment\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" class=\"metro-button share-bar-preferred-source\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-preferred-source\" href=\"#social-preferred-source\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/section>\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card accent--tv\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card__inner\">\n<h4>TV Newsletter<\/h4>\n<p>Sign up and tell us which TV shows you love to watch to get personalised updates every morning.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Richard Hammond was caught speeding in his Porsche (Picture: West Mercia Police\/PA Wire) Richard Hammond has been fined a whopping \u00a3999 by a Shropshire court after being caught speeding twice in three weeks. The former Top Gear presenter, 56, was in his Porsche last December when he was snapped speeding by West Mercia police in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_306658568-e5a0-e1785239700651_1785243086.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200&h=630&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}