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LONDON - The most senior British traffic police officer is facing speeding charges, his force said, leading road safety campaigners to call for him to step down.
"Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes has received a notice of intended prosecution in respect of an alleged driving offence in North Wales in the early morning of a Bank Holiday Monday in May while he was on holiday," South Yorkshire Police said in a statement.
Hughes is both the chief constable of South Yorkshire Police and the head of roads policing for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), making him the top traffic cop in the country.
He is due to face a court in Wrexham, Wales, in late November. If convicted he could be fined up to £1000 ($2644) and possibly be banned from driving.
Paul Smith, founder of campaign group SafeSpeed.org.uk which campaigns against speeding cameras on British roads, called on the police chief to resign.
A spokesman for ACPO said that Mr Hughes will be "handing over his responsibility for road policing", a decision he said had been made before Hughes was faced with the speeding charges.
- REUTERS
