A DRIVER caught at 156mph in one of the world's most glamorous car rallies said his love of Newcastle United saved him from jail.

Gary Pudney, 32, originally from Consett, County Durham, was clocked at more than double the speed limit on a Spanish motorway.

Officers on duty near Tarragona, south of Barcelona, stopped several high-performance BMW, Ferrari and Porsche cars trying to make it to the Formula 1 race last Sunday.

Mr Pudney, who lives and works in Hong Kong, said: "I was kept overnight, but the police were fine.

"They asked me where I was from and I said near Newcastle. They did not get it, so I said 'Barcelona Bobby Robson's Newcastle'.

"At that point, all the cops started chanting 'Bobby Robson' and 'Alan Shearer'.

"It really broke the ice and they were fine after that, enjoying having a look over the cars."

Mr Pudney, who owns a Ferrari and a top-of-the-range BMW sports car, was taking part in the Gumball 3000 supercar rally across Europe, an eccentric event where the rich and famous spend a week driving between five-star hotels and parties with royalty.

Mr Pudney and two other drivers were fined 300 euros before they were allowed to carry on in the rally. He finished the event and is now back in Hong Kong.

This year's six-day Gumball began in Paris and took in Spain and Morocco, before finishing in Cannes in time for the film festival.

The exclusive event costs £8,000 to enter. Celebrities believed to have taken part this year included model Jodie Kidd, actor Adrien Brody and former boxer Chris Eubank.

Rally organisers said anyone caught speeding would be banned from taking part again.

They said the rally was not a race and there was only one prize given out, for the car which best captured the spirit of the Gumball.