Former "Top Gear" presenter Richard Hammond has been fined a total of £999 (approximately $1,260 USD) after being caught speeding twice in three weeks. The incidents involved his Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo and a Bentley Continental GT.
On December 2 of last year, Hammond was driving his Porsche at 68 mph in a 50 mph zone on the A40 in Pencraig, Herefordshire. Twenty days later, he was recorded driving his Bentley at 82 mph in a 70 mph zone on the A50 Rudhall Overbridge, also in Herefordshire.
West Mercia Police encountered difficulties locating Hammond, sending letters to his properties that were returned marked "addressee gone away." The presenter was eventually traced to his residence near Abergavenny, Wales.
Hammond, 56, pleaded guilty through his lawyers to two charges of speeding. At Telford Magistrates' Court, he was issued seven penalty points on his driving license. Magistrate Ann Minton imposed fines totaling £999, along with £240 in costs and £532 in victim surcharges, bringing the total to £1,771.
Court documents indicated that Hammond had also faced accusations of ignoring police letters and failing to identify himself as the driver for the speeding offenses. However, his solicitor maintained that Hammond had responded to the letters. The police withdrew these additional charges, and Hammond was prosecuted for the speeding offenses under the Single Justice Procedure, a streamlined court process for minor criminal cases.
Hammond, who was known as 'The Hamster' on the BBC's "Top Gear," has a history of driving-related incidents. He nearly died in a 2006 jet car crash and, along with Jeremy Clarkson, received a driving ban in France in 2013 for speeding.
