speeding
The driver was filmed travelling at 149mph on the M25 near Swanley in Kent Getty

A driver who was clocked travelling 149mph along the M25 has been revealed as the worst speeding offender in England and Wales last year.

The driver was recorded travelling at more than double the speed limit on the M25 near Swanley in Kent between April 2013 and May 2014.

The speeding motorist was revealed following a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).

As part of the FOI request, taken from data of 39 police forces in England and Wales, the group also requested information which revealed the worst offenders on other stretches of roads with slower speed limits.

The information revealed the highest speeder recorded on a 30mph zone was 96mph in Leam Lane in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.

A driver was also caught doing 113mph in a 40mph zone on the A17 Station Road, Swineshead Bridge.

Elsewhere, a motorist was clocked driving at 119mph on a 50mph road on the A414 Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire.

The highest recorded speed on a designated 60mph speed limit road was recorded in Buckinghamshire, where a driver was clocked driving at 127mph on the A413 Wendover bypass.

Commenting on the driver caught doing 149mph, IAM chief executive Simon Best said this speed equates to travelling at two-and-a half-miles a minute.

He added: "If anything goes wrong at that speed, you're unlikely to walk away and you are a grave danger to the innocent road users around you.

"Speed limits are a limit. They are not a target to beat. Unfortunately this message has not got through to many motorists and it's clear that efforts to make speeding as socially unacceptable as drink-driving continue to fail.

"The current guidelines on sentencing for excessive speeding offences are out of sync with modern roads, modern vehicles and society's view of the value of lives lost in crashes."

A Kent Police spokesperson said a man was disqualified from driving for six months after been found guilty of travelling 149mph in March. He was also fined £600 and ordered to pay a total of £145 in other costs.