CHESHIRE Police recorded one motorist speeding at 95mph during the first three weeks of the coronavirus lockdown.

This was revealed following an investigation by the RAC, which discovered that two-thirds of Britain's police forces caught people driving in excess of 100mph during the same period.

Police data obtained by the RAC revealed that the highest speed was clocked at 151mph on the M62 in West Yorkshire, which was 81mph over the limit, while another motorist was recorded travelling at 140mph in Suffolk.

RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams described travelling at such speeds as ‘truly shocking’ and warned that motorists travelling this fast have virtually no time to react should anything unexpected happen.

He said: "Some drivers have taken advantage of quieter roads to speed excessively, putting the lives of others at risk at the worst possible time.

"It's encouraging that so many police forces have taken firm action even during the lockdown, which sends a strong message to other would-be offenders."

Department for Transport figures show that road traffic was around two-thirds lower than normal for the first few weeks after the lockdown was introduced on March 23, when people were urged to stay at home and avoid non-essential travel.

Despite this, there were 17,363 speeding offences recorded on Britain’s roads with 30mph limits.

"The figures for speeding offences on 30mph roads are particularly worrying as far more people have been walking and cycling due to the lockdown,” Mr Williams continued.

"As some schools and nurseries in England begin to open their doors, there will be even more pedestrians on the roads, so we urge every driver to obey the speed limit and keep all road users safe."

Meanwhile, insurer Co-op reported a 50 per cent increase in the number of claims it received relating to collisions involving cyclists between March 20 and May 28 compared with the previous 10-week period.

Joshua Harris, of road safety charity Brake, said: "We implore all drivers to always keep well within speed limits and to be extra vigilant as people use local roads for their daily exercise.

"It's vital that drivers are aware of the risk they pose to other more vulnerable road users and to make sure they slow down, only overtake when absolutely safe to do so and always leave plenty of room."