BEST-selling author Graham Taylor is planning to make a formal complaint to police after being convicted of speeding.

Mr Taylor, the former vicar of Cloughton, near Scarborough, was fined £105 and had three penalty points put on his licence by the town's magistrates on Monday.

He was allegedly caught travelling at 45mph in a 30mph limit on Scarborough's Marine Drive last November.

Mr Taylor, a former police officer, pleaded guilty - but is planning to make a complaint and says he is considering an appeal.

He claims the officer had his car window wound up against the cold and projected the beam of the laser gun through the glass.

Guidelines from the Association of Chief Police Officers state that the beams should not be projected through glass or mirrors because of the risk of reflection or refraction affecting the reading.

Mr Taylor, 45, said he was travelling at 30mph but sped up to overtake a car that had slammed its brakes on after spotting the police vehicle.

"The police still insisted on prosecuting me, while I was trying to avoid an accident," he said.

"In the good old days, a policeman would have come over and said, 'Don't be a silly boy'."

A police spokesman said: "Speed limits are not imposed for the entertainment of police officers nor for the enrichment of the Home Office. They are there to protect life, simple as that.

"The fact Mr Taylor pleaded guilty to speeding speaks for itself. The court will doubtless have given due recognition to his letter of mitigation.

"If, despite his admission of guilt, he wants to point out some police procedure that he believes to be faulty, then he should immediately relay that information to Eastern Area police, who will give it their full attention."