Watch - Footballer jailed after driving at nearly 200mph
The video shows the speedometer going above 180mph as Charlton charges down the motorway (Image: CPS)
A semi-pro footballer who was filmed driving at 191mph in Yorkshire has been jailed, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said.
Connor Charlton, 32, was also involved in a scam where other drivers took penalty points for speeding offences in return for cash.
The centre forward, who plays for Nostell Miners Welfare in the Northern Counties East League, was jailed at Leeds Crown Court for four years and banned from driving for four years and seven months.
Connor Charlton
(Image: West Yorkshire Police/PA Wire)
The CPS shared a video of Charlton drifting his BMW at a roundabout, with tyres screeching, almost causing a collision with a van.
And in another clip, a passenger filmed him driving a BMW X5M Competition at 191mph on a motorway in the West Yorkshire area.
A screenshot from the video showing the speedo reaching 190mph.
(Image: Crown Prosecution Service)
When police accessed the car’s computer they were shocked to find it had recorded incredible speeds eight times in a year. The vehicle hit top speeds of 160mph, 157mph, 161mph, 186mph, 175mph and 191mph.
Among the roads Charlton had used were the M1, M62 and A1(M) in West Yorkshire.
The CPS said Charlton, from Hunslet, Leeds, admitted 10 counts of dangerous driving and four offences of perverting the course of justice.
The court heard that the striker had two previous convictions unrelated to driving, including being found guilty of ABH in 2019 after punching a man during a five-a-side football match in Wakefield.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: "This is a chilling case and it is a miracle Charlton didn't kill or injure anyone given the speeds he was caught driving at.
"The fact that when police accessed the car’s computer they found eight other incredibly high speeds in a year – is shocking.
“This case exemplifies why the RAC has backed the Stop Excessive Speeders campaign which calls on the Government to take action to prevent excessive and repeat speeders from re-offending.
"This would see these offenders ordered to have tamper-proof Intervening Intelligent Speed Assistance technology fitted to their vehicles to stop them exceeding the limit again.”
Edmund King, director of the AA Trust for Road Safety, said: “This driver was obviously an extreme serial speeder who frequently put his own life and lives of others at risk. The court has rightly taken this seriously and given a prison sentence and long driving ban.
“Perhaps he should have spent more time testing his speed on the pitch rather than on the public highway.”
Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore said: “Driving at nearly 200mph is not simply speeding. It is an extraordinary level of dangerous driving which puts the lives of innocent motorists, passengers and pedestrians at risk. At those speeds, one moment of recklessness can have devastating and irreversible consequences.
"What concerns me particularly is that this is not an isolated issue. I have repeatedly heard from residents about speeding and dangerous driving across Keighley, Ilkley and the Worth Valley, and I have been calling for tougher action to tackle it for some time.
"In my view, we need to look seriously at whether the current sentencing framework is tough enough to deter this kind of behaviour. If someone is prepared to drive at nearly 200mph and put the lives of other people at risk, the consequences must be severe enough to make clear that this will not be tolerated.
"That means tougher sentences for the most serious cases of dangerous driving, stronger and longer driving bans, and considering whether drivers arrested on suspicion of serious drink or drug driving offences who pose an immediate risk to other road users should face an interim driving suspension while their case is determined.
"There must be a clear deterrent. Roads are there to get people safely from A to B, not to be treated as racetracks. I will continue calling for stronger enforcement and tougher sanctions against those who drive dangerously and put other road users at risk.”