A FORMER policeman who challenged a speeding conviction from a controversial speed camera has lost his appeal.

Colin Peter William Bennett launched an appeal after being convicted of speeding on the A35 through Chideock after being recorded going 38mph through the 30mph zone.

The 66-year-old man claimed the camera must have been faulty and that distance markers on the road at the site were incorrect.

More than 24,000 drivers caught by the camera between 1997 and 2007 have had their penalties overturned after the traffic regulation order relating to the speed limit was found to be invalid.

The legislation has since been amended however, Bennett, of West Hill, Ottery St Mary, Devon, launched a fresh challenge following his conviction for an alleged offence in November 2009.

Giving evidence at the appeal hearing at Dorchester Crown Court Bennett said he was driving from Portsmouth to Devon with David Roberts as passenger on the night in question and was convinced he was within the 30mph when he passed the camera.

He said: “I braked to enter that 30mph area at precisely that speed, I maintained that speed as I passed the camera but I was shocked and distracted by a flash from the camera.

“I immediately said to Mr Roberts that the radar or the camera or both must be faulty.”

As well as questioning the equipment and the road markings at the camera site, Bennett also raised concerns over the way in which the speed limit was revised after the error was discovered in 2007.

After hearing the evidence Judge Roger Jarvis said that the bench was confident that there was no fault in the speedometer or the method of operating it.

He said: “We are quite sure that on November 8, 2009, this was a motor car that exceeded the speed limit and in the circumstances Mr Bennett’s appeal is dismissed.”