A DRIVER is challenging a speeding ticket as he claims the restriction on Weymouth Relief Road is not clearly advertised.

David Hansford is taking his fight to court, arguing authorities could do better to promote the 30mph zone at the entrance to the relief road, just past the Manor roundabout.

Dorchester resident Mr Hansford, owner of the Vintage shop in Weymouth, travels along Weymouth Way and the Weymouth Relief Road, every day.

He was given a ticket for doing 40mph on the stretch of road between the Manor and Veasta roundabouts, which carries a 30mph limit.

Drivers coming from Weymouth Way are only informed of the 30mph limit as they approach the Manor roundabout but not after. The limit remains a 30 until past the Veasta roundabout, when it becomes a 50mph zone.

Mr Hansford, 46, claims it isn’t clearly advertised, and that no signs exist on the part of the road he was caught in for Dorchester-bound drivers. The sign at the roundabout was obscured by overgrowth, he said.

Mr Hansford said he had never noticed the sign before and assumed the limit was 50mph. He claims he was caught by a mobile speed camera in a car.

Mr Hansford said: “It was a dark car with a camera in it, parked on the concrete on the left hand side. It was eight o’clock at night as well.

“I saw the car, looked at the speed and I was doing 40mph.”

He added: “I wasn’t expecting it because I didn’t for a second think I’d broken the speed limit.”

Mr Hansford has contested the ticket and is now planning to make his case in court.

He said: “Nobody would ever imagine that is 30mph. There’s absolutely no reason for it. Nobody ever walks there. There are no schools, no shops and no children.”

He is keen to discover how many other drivers were aware of the limit. He added: “I’d just like to know the reasons for it to be a 30mph limit. If there’s no danger to the public, it’s a trap.”

Explaining the decision behind the speed limit, a spokesman for Dorset County Council said: “Each end of that bit of road will have 30mph due to the other arms of the roundabout. It’s such a small distance that we wouldn’t want to have so many changes to the limit. It also ensures that drivers are driving at an appropriate speed on the approaches to the roundabouts.”