Paul Hollywood speeding at 96mph 'due to sick cat'

Bake Off star Paul Hollywood was pulled over by police after speeding at nearly 100mph while rushing his sick cat to the vet, a court heard.

The celebrity baker was accused of tailgating cars at high speeds on the M25 to "bully" them out of the fast lane.

A Surrey Police officer said Hollywood's Land Rover Defender was officially clocked at 96mph, but he was believed to have reached speeds of more than 105mph when he got on to the M26.

When pulled over, the court heard the 60-year-old blamed his behaviour on a desire to take his cat to the vet as quickly as possible.

At Worthing Magistrates' Court last week, Hollywood pleaded guilty to speeding, and had five penalty points added to his licence, a £293 fine, £120 in costs, and a £117 victim surcharge.

After an intervention from his lawyers, a second charge of driving without due care and attention was dropped.

"Mr Hollywood accepted he was driving too fast," wrote Peter Csemiczky, a partner at Hickman and Rose law firm.

He added Hollywood "apologised" for his actions and "understood he would be punished".

Court papers showed the incident happened at about 15:20 GMT on 9 January.

'Aggressively tailgating'

Surrey Police officer, Alexander McAlpine, tracked Hollywood in an unmarked police car and said he saw his vehicle "repeatedly bully" other vehicles out of its way by tailgating.

"Whenever there was a vehicle ahead, the driver would close up to a follow distance of less than five metres which was wholly inappropriate for the conditions and speed," McAlphine said.

He added Hollywood reached speeds of about 100mph on the M25 despite heavy traffic conditions and the road being damp.

The officer caught the incident on his dash camera, then pulled over Hollywood to challenge him over his speeding and "aggressively tailgating other road users".

Hollywood, a judge on Bake Off since 2010, is also a motoring enthusiast who has competed in professional races for Aston Martin.

Court papers showed he had no penalty points on his licence when he was pulled over by the police officer in January.

Additional reporting by PA

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