OLYMPIC athlete Alison Curbishley, who helped the British team to sixth place in the women's 4x400 relay in Sydney, has been fined £200 for her third speeding offence in less than a year.

Curbishley, 25, of Grosvenor Place, Bath, should have appeared before the Kennet bench of the South East Wiltshire Magistrates on September 13 but was in Sydney and the case was adjourned to last Thursday.

She had sent a written plea of guilty to driving her Citroen Xantia at 55 mph in a 40 mph zone in Churchill Way, Salisbury, on May 18. Magistrates in Devizes fined her £200 with three penalty points and £35 costs.

Curbishley was stopped by traffic officers after her speed was recorded while she was overtaking on the city ring road.

Magistrates had asked her to attend court because of her two previous speeding convictions within a year of her third offence but accepted a letter from her solicitor Kuit Steinart Levy saying she was unable to appear in person because of a heavy training commitment.

Mr Steinart Levy said his client was a member of the British Olympic team and had recently returned from Sydney.

The court was told Curbishley was fined for speeding offences in May last year and in February this year.

In a letter to the court Mr Steinart Levy said Curbishley was driving through Salisbury on May 18 shortly after noon when she noticed a car in front of her being driven erratically.

"The driver of the car was driving very erratically. On a number of occasions he changed lanes, drifted in front of her for no reason, and when they were going around a roundabout he cut in front of her without warning as if he was turning right, but he did not.

"By this time Miss Curbishley was feeling extremely nervous and concerned for her safety. Shortly after this incident she had an opportunity to overtake the other car after going around a roundabout.

"She accelerated and overtook the other car and it was at this time she was stopped by the police. She accepts she had no real excuse."

Curbishley, who failed to qualify for the individual 400m final in Sydney, is one of a growing number of top international athletes who have settled in Bath to take advantage of the sports training village at Bath university.

She was unavailable when the Gazette tried to contact her to ask her about the three speeding offences in less than a year which could have earned her a disqualification.