A SPEEDING Ford Focus going 68mph in a 30 zone was the fastest non-emergency vehicle fined in Reading last year.

Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request filed by the Chronicle show that all of the 30 quickest motorists that received a fine over the last three years were exceeding the speed limit by more than 30mph.

Of that number, 16 were caught on Berkeley Avenue with a stolen Mercedes Sport Bluetec clocking up the fastest speed, 76mph in the year 2013/2014, on the Coley road.

Of the 30 fastest flagged up motorists, 14 were police cars or ambulances which subsequently had their fines waived.

Berkeley Avenue has long been a flash point for accelerator happy motorists.

Last year the Chronicle revealed that a single speed camera on the road catches a speeding driver every four hours and pulls in more than a third of all the speeding fines handed out across Reading borough.

John Franklin, who lives on Berkeley Avenue, said: “I saw a BMW going really quickly the other day and said to my friend 'that guy has to slow down'.

“He was absolutely tearing it up.

“There are children in this area and there is two schools close to here.”

With the minimum fine for speeding set at £100 and three penalty points, the Berkeley Avenue camera amassed at least £233,200 in fines in 2015 and almost 7,000 collective points on driving licences.

Despite this significant sum, the drivers of Reading clearly haven't got the message, with six of the ten fastest speeds clocked up across the town in the last year recorded on the road.

Mike Bristow, spokesperson for Brake the road safety charity, said: “Drivers who selfishly break speed limits put not only themselves, but other road users, at serious risk.

“Evidence shows that driving over the speed limit, or travelling too fast for the conditions of a road, is a contributory factor in more than one in four fatal crashes in the UK.

“To prevent more families suffering the horrific impact of road crashes and the deaths and injuries they cause, it is vital that speed limits are obeyed."