104mph ambulance driver escapes charge

An ambulance driver caught travelling at more than 100mph as he delivered a liver for a transplant operation has had the charge against him dropped.

Mike Ferguson, 56, faced losing his job after police pressed their case against him for driving at 104mph on the A1(M) motorway in Lincolnshire in January.

Mr Ferguson, who was driving from St James's hospital in Leeds to Addenbrookes, Cambridge, was due before Grantham magistrates next week.

He said today he was "overjoyed" with the Crown Prosecution Service's decision not to take the case to court.

Mr Ferguson, from West Yorkshire, has a clean driving licence and an unblemished employment record stretching back 36 years. But emergency service drivers are exempt from speed limits only if they are carrying patients.

Speaking from his home in West Yorkshire, Mr Ferguson said he was grateful for the public support that had helped him to continue his fight.

But he added: "What we need now is to have the law clarified so this doesn't happen to someone else."

The Assistant Chief Constable of Lincolnshire, Peter Davies, also hoped the law would be "reviewed and clarified".

Mr Davies added: "The fact remains that there is no exemption for any vehicle delivering blood or organs to be driven beyond the prevailing speed limit."