Footballer in court over speeding

24 March 2010

Celtic footballer Aiden McGeady has appeared in court over speeding charges which saw him allegedly drive at 54mph in a 30mph zone.

The police officer who stopped Mr McGeady told Glasgow's Justice of the Peace court that he was satisfied the machine he used to clock the midfielder was fit for use.

Inspector Kenneth Welsh used a handheld device to record the speeding which allegedly took place on Carmunnock Road in Glasgow on February 15 last year.

The 23-year-old denied the charges.

Inspector Welsh, 50, told the court that before taking the Unipar SL700 device out on patrol that day, he carried out the necessary pre-use checks for range and alignment.

He also checked that it was up-to-date with its calibration, a test which is carried out annually by the manufacturer.

Judith Hutchison, senior procurator fiscal depute, asked: "Were you satisfied that that machine was fit to carry out the duties that you were to do that day?"

He replied: "Yes."

Insp Welsh and colleague Constable Alexander Smith took the device to Carmunnock Road to look out for speeding cars and stopped Mr McGeady's Audi at around 3.30pm.

He told the court: "My attention was drawn to a black vehicle heading towards us.

"I believed that the vehicle was exceeding the speed limit. I aimed the Unipar device at the vehicle concerned and it came back as a recording of 54mph."

Copyright © Press Association 2010