MARTIN Walker's rush to be at the birth of his second child brought him a bill for £365 yesterday and a warning not to go dashing round the country.

Magistrates heard how Walker, 32, had been clocked by police at 105mph as he headed north in his BMW at Allerton Park, near Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.

Walker, of Chancer Close, Billingham, Teesside, pleaded guilty at Harrogate Magistrates' Court to speeding. His solicitor, Clive Farndon, said he travelled 40,000 miles a year for ntl, the digital television and telephone provider, a job which took him the length and breadth of the country.

He had been in Leeds on November 18 when his eight-months-pregnant wife rang to say she had gone into labour.

"This was a fairly compelling explanation for his anxiety to get back home," said Mr Farndon.

In the event, the labour had proved to be a false alarm and it had been another few weeks before Walker's second son - the first is aged three - was born.

After hearing that losing his licence would cost Walker his job, magistrates decided not to ban him. He was fined £300, with £65 costs and six penalty points, and warned by chairman Timothy Burrell: "This is your last chance."