LAST month, we carried a tragic story concerning ten-year-old Laura Burrows-Schofield, who was killed when she was knocked off her bike by a speeding driver.

The car was travelling at 55mph in a 40mph zone in Durham and experts said Laura would not have been killed if the driver had kept within the speed limit. We urged motorists to think of Laura whenever they were tempted to drive too fast.

Today, we publish the case of police officer Mark Milton who has been cleared of speeding despite driving a car at 159mph.

But District Judge Bruce Morgan not only cleared PC Milton, who had also been clocked driving at 120mph in a 60mph zone, but criticised the decision to take the case to court.

The officer was an advanced driver who was testing out his new patrol car on a motorway in the early hours of the morning when there was not a lot of traffic.

But, in our view, that is not the point. It does not matter how good a driver might be at the wheel, travelling at nearly 160mph on a public road is highly dangerous.

There have been a number of high profile cases - including some in this region - in which police officers have been seen to get away with speeding offences.

Yesterday's case simply adds to the perception that there is one rule for the police and another rule for ordinary motorists.

PC Milton should be brought into line. And so should the judge who had the gall to question the decision to bring the case to court.