Olympian vows to fight speeding ticket in court

Olympic swimmer Baroness Sharron Davies is set to stand trial over a motorway speeding ticket after blaming the incident on a sign "so poor it was easy to miss".

- Tristan Kirk and Clara Margotin

The 63-year-old, who lives near Bradford-on-Avon, was driving back from a speaking event in Wales when she was caught by a speed camera on the M4.

Court papers show the former athlete, who recently became Baroness Davies of Devonport in the House of Lords, was driving her Mini at 65mph when the speed limit had been temporarily cut to 50mph.

But she has vowed to fight the charge, saying she was "shocked" to receive the speeding ticket and insists she was not to blame.

"I am adamant that the signage was so poor it was easy to miss, which is what must have happened," she wrote.

Avon and Somerset Police launched the prosecution after Baroness Davies's car triggered a speed camera near junction 19 in South Gloucestershire at just after 11.30pm on October 15 last year.