Former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond, 56, was convicted of speeding after being caught breaking the limit twice in three weeks while driving his luxury cars.
West Mercia Police brought two prosecutions against Hammond based on speed camera images taken in Herefordshire. He was at the wheel of a Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo on December 2, 2023, when it was clocked at 68mph in a 50mph limit on the A40 in Pencraig. Just 20 days later, on December 22, his Bentley Continental GT was recorded at 82mph in a 70mph limit on the A50 Rudhall Overbridge in Herefordshire.
Court Appearance and Fine
Hammond pleaded guilty through his lawyers to two charges of speeding. At Telford Magistrates' Court on July 22, he was handed seven penalty points on his licence and fined £999. Magistrate Ann Minton ordered him to pay a total of £1,771, comprising two fines of £333 and £666, £240 in costs, and victim surcharges totalling £532.
In a letter to the court, Hammond's solicitor stated: "He replied identifying himself as the driver. He sent the reply by First Class post. He posted the reply himself." This was in response to allegations that he had failed to identify himself as the driver. The police withdrew those additional charges after Hammond was convicted of the speeding offences under the Single Justice Procedure.
Police Efforts to Track Down Hammond
Court papers reveal that police spent weeks sending letters to Hammond's properties, including a Grade II* listed Herefordshire castle bought in 2012 and a £1 million farm estate near Hereford. The letters were returned marked "addressee gone away." Eventually, they tracked him to his £2 million mansion near Abergavenny in Wales, where more than 30 vehicles are registered.
Hammond, nicknamed The Hamster, nearly died in a 320mph jet car crash in 2006 while filming Top Gear, and in 2013 he and Jeremy Clarkson received a three-month driving ban in France for speeding during an episode of the show. He was among 39 defendants convicted by Ms Milton during the court session.
