A MEAT lorry driver caught speeding at close to 100mph in his car will keep his licence while a Just Eat delivery driver with four children was banned from the road.

Marcus Hart was clocked by police driving at 98mph on the M5 at Worcester, close to 30mph above the motorway speed limit. Meanwhile, Just Eat delivery driver Gheorghe Bahica was banned because he did not have the correct insurance.

Hart, 29, a company director and professional HGV driver was behind the wheel of a Land Rover when he was captured speeding on July 12 last year, a matter proved in absence. However, he was allowed to keep his licence despite the high speed following a hearing at Worcester Magistrates Court yesterday.

Andy Saunders, prosecuting, said officers caused Hart to stop, he was told about the offence and he gave ‘no significant response’.

Ian Bridge, defending, said: “The first thing to say is how embarrassed and sorry he is, appearing before the court in this way.”

He explained that Hart was a class 1 HGV driver who completed around 80,000 miles per year. At the time of the offence he had been in his own car and ‘running late’.

Hart was ‘shocked he was doing 98mph’, said Mr Bridge.

Mr Bridge told magistrates his client already had three penalty points for going through a red light. The barrister went on to say that Hart was a director of a company delivering meat between Coventry and Aberystwyth.

“This is a man whose life is hectic from the point of view of both work and childcare issues” he said.

He added that, were his client to lose his licence, it would be ‘very difficult to replace him as the driver’. “The business is successful” he said. The company has eight employees.

Mr Bridge also pointed out that there were no aggravating features and that it would not be practical to employ a driver. David Shadwell, the chairman of the bench, said: "Driving at 98mph in a 70 is just totally unacceptable. It's reckless. It could be dangerous."

He told Hart of Birmingham Road, Whitacre Heath, that, as a professional lorry driver, 'you should never have put yourself in that position'. Magistrates decided to add a further six penalty points to his licence, taking the total to nine. Mr Shadwell warned Hart: "With that nine points you are right on the edge of losing your licence."

They also fined him £900, ordered him to pay a £90 victim surcharge and £110 costs.

In a separate case Just Eat delivery driver Gheorghe Bahica drove to court but was told by magistrates he could not drive away again after they banned him from driving. The father did not have business insurance to cover him working as a delivery driver when he was stopped by police on July 25 last year with a Just Eat bag on the passenger seat.

The 32-year-old of Maryland Avenue, Birmingham, already had six points on his licence and the bench added another six points for the insurance matter, making him a totter. He was disqualified from driving for six months, fined £146, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £34 and £110. Because he already owed the court £816, this took the total debt to £1,106. He asked: "How will I be able to support my family?"

Mr Chadwell said: "I'm not going to repeat myself - the court debt is your number one priority."