WILTSHIRE and Swindon’s police and crime commissioner has backed a change in the law that will see motorists hit with tougher punishments when caught speeding.

Although the controversial proposal has been damned by legal experts in Swindon, PCC Angus Macpherson thinks it likely that the public will see the changes in a positive light.

Under the new laws, drivers could be fined up to 150 per cent of their weekly income for the most serious speeding offences. This is up from the current level of 100 per cent.

Mr Macpherson, said: “As a former Swindon magistrate and now commissioner I have seen at first-hand the devastating effect speeding can have on individuals, families and communities when lives are lost as a result.

“I support the Sentencing Council’s desire to update the penalties so they properly reflect the severity of the offence whilst ensuring they are proportionate.

“I believe the revised penalties will strengthen the public’s confidence in the criminal justice system.”

It is thought that the changes, which will come in to force from April, will have a greater effect on those who are caught driving at 101mph or faster on a motorway, or when their recorded speed in a 30mph zone is more than 50mph.

But legal experts are not convinced the changes are a good idea.

Francis George, senior partner at Francis George Solicitor-Advocate in Old Town, said: “The police have always allowed for a certain margin of error. If you go two or three mph over the limit, that is taken into account. As long as you were driving safely, you wouldn’t get stopped.

“This policy appears to suggest that even though there is no danger and you are two miles over the limit, you still run the risk of being caught. Are they saying that, as a result, the roads will be safer?”

It comes on the back of other recent initiatives which have received strong support from Mr Macpherson.

Late last year, the south west commissioner backed a national clampdown on drivers using their mobile phones at the wheel.