SOLICITOR Jane Hickman claimed misleading road signs led to her speeding through Avebury.

Magistrates sitting in Devizes banned her from driving for 21 days due to her excess speed and previous speeding offences despite her plea to be allowed to carry on driving.

Hickman, of Bromwich Avenue, London, was caught by a police laser gun travelling at 53mph in the 30mph limit leading out of Avebury towards Devizes on the A4361 on January 6.

The court heard she had six penalty points on her driving licence as a result of two speeding offences last year on motorways.

Hickman, 52, who represented herself in court on Tuesday, said: "I simply could not believe this happened at Avebury.

"I was watching the speed limit so carefully and when I came round the bend there was a sign pointing to Devizes and the national speed limit sign.

"It's a long, wide straight bend and I thought I was out of the speed limit area so I went up from 30mph."

Hickman said after she was caught she went back to the location and said she had misinterpreted the sign but also said it was not clear enough to motorists.

She said being banned from driving would impact on her professional and personal life.

Hickman failed to appear at a previous court hearing at Devizes Magistrates Court due to illness and thought an interim disqualification was imposed so she had not been driving for three weeks before she appeared at court on Tuesday.

She said: "I have a young daughter and a very demanding job and I travel all over the country. Life is quite difficult and without a car it's been excruciatingly difficult."

She added: "Driving badly and too fast is wrong. I do believe in the rule of law and that includes speeding laws. If you were to impose a disqualification I would accept it philosophically."

Magistrates disqualified Hickman from driving for 21 days, fined her £450 and ordered her to pay £35 costs.

Hickman told the court that until she committed her first speeding offence in 1996 she was "cavalier" towards speed limits but she said in the last five years she had exercised an "iron control" in sticking to speed limits.