Man hit 120mph on M9

An ambitious young accountant with international auditors KPMG who drove a performance BMW at more than 100 miles per hour on the hard shoulder of a Scottish motorway that was busy with summer traffic escaped jail yesterday after his lawyer claimed he had been acting out of “fear”.

Wajhaht Akhtar, 22, had been “intimidated” by the occupants of another black BMW when he hit speeds of 120 on the M9 near the Stirlingshire/Perthshire border, Stirling Sheriff Court was told.

He slowed down only slightly, to 100, as he undertook other cars by using the hard shoulder, the court heard.

His driving, at 3.20 on a Saturday afternoon last August, was described by a sheriff as “extraordinarily dangerous”.

Traffic police carrying out speed checks near the junction of the M80 and M9 near Stirling recorded the 120mph top speed on a hand-held laser as Akhtar’s BMW 3 Series 335D xDrive M Sport went past them.

Prosecutor Adrian Fraser said the officers followed the BMW as it headed north and between junctions 9 and 10 they could see that it was being driven on the hard shoulder, “undertaking” other vehicles.

Sheriff William Gilchrist fined Akhtar £2,700, banned him from driving for 21 months, and ordered him to resit his test before getting back behind the wheel.

Akhtar was permitted to pay the large fine at £250 a month.