NEW information revealed in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown has revealed that some of the fastest road speeds reported anywhere in the country were in Lancashire.

This week a freedom of information request revealed that the worst case of recorded speeding on England’s road network since March had taken place on the M62 in West Yorkshire where a driver was clocked at speeds of 151mph.

However on Tuesday, road policing teams revealed that the 21-year-old driver of a Mercedes had his vehicle seized after he posted a video of himself reaching speeds of up to 160mph on Lancashire’s roads.

The same car was also spotted reaching speeds of 103mph in residential areas of Bacup.

This means the young driver, who is thought to be from the Whitworth area, was travelling at nine miles per hour faster than was revealed by the RAC in their investigation into lockdown speeders.

Lancashire’s road police have struggled to keep up with the number of offenders on our roads over the last several weeks, with new reports of drivers travelling at eye-watering speeds or without insurance or licences, emerging every day.

RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said: “Some of the speeds police forces have caught drivers doing are truly shocking. At such high speeds there is virtually no time to react should anything unexpected happen in front such as a car changing lanes at the last second or a vehicle having to brake suddenly.

“Clearly, some drivers have taken advantage of quieter roads to speed excessively putting the lives of others at risk at the worst possible time, but at the same 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.”

The Lancashire Road Safety Partnership have also spoken out about the number of dangerous drivers plaguing the country’s roads, with many snared on the country's residential and A roads.

A spokesman said: “Our static yellow cameras across the county detected drivers choosing to travel at 60mph, 67mph, 65mph, 81mph ALL in 30mph limits. Over double the legal speed limit, putting pedestrians as well as road users at risk of harm and injury.

“A vehicle was recorded travelling along the M55 out of Blackpool at a speed of 101mph in a 70mph limit, whilst another driver travelling along the same stretch stopped for speeding by Lancashire Police had no licence or insurance.

“We have seen even more cases of vehicles exceeding the speed limits in 30 and 40mph limits, with one driver, who has been referred to court, recorded travelling at a speed of 100mph in a 30mph limit on Manchester Road in Baxenden.”

As well as extra motorway patrols to catch offenders, spot speed checks are also being carried out in a bid to clampdown on speeders.

In May, a major operation named Manta Ray was launched by Lancashire Police to target speeding on the county’s road network.

The crackdown on drivers was announced after these serious concerns were raised over the abuse of speed limits since the coronavirus lockdown began.

The operation, which began on May 6, is focusing on high profile enforcement and education to road users and will target the main causes of road accidents - speed, driver impairment through drink or drugs, use of mobile phones, dangerous and careless driving.