An 80-year-old biker who was clocked at 83mph has been forced to pay £15,000 after failing to convince a court he did not mean to speed.

Elderly John Gibbs was stopped by police on the A23 near the Haywards Heath turning while heading back from the Ace Café Reunion in Brighton.

He was detected travelling at 83mph in a 70mph area in September 2008 on an MV Augusta motorbike capable of a top speed of 150mph.

At Haywards Heath Magistrates’ Court last week Mr Gibbs insisted he had not exceeded the speed limit and blamed faulty police equipment.

It was the twelfth time the matter had been before the court, in which time Gibbs was represented by a succession of legal teams.

Convicting Gibbs magistrates placed three points on his licence, fined him £500 and awarded £4,250 costs to the prosecution.

Gibbs, of Dorking, Surrey, was allowed 14 days to pay in full. This was on top of in excess of £10,000 defence costs the court had been told of earlier in the day.

Ken Seymour, Manager of the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership, said: "The equipment used has Home Office Type Approval and consequently has been comprehensively tested to a high standard. The Camera Operators are highly trained, so everything is done to ensure accuracy. This has been proved with Mr Gibbs conviction."