A successful businessman who gave a false name to the police after he was clocked doing 81mph in a 40 zone on the A647 Bradford Road has been spared an immediate jail sentence.

David Leeming, who owns a computer software firm, was caught on a speed camera in his Audi on June 29, 2020, Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday.

He received a Notice of Intended Prosecution and on July 3 that year, he gave the police false information by nominating a fictitious male as the driver.

Leeming, 41, of Clara Drive, Calverley, pleaded guilty today to doing a series of acts with intent to pervert the course of public justice.

The court heard that the police became suspicious when they couldn’t trace the nominated driver.

Leeming told them it was a customer at his business who had borrowed the Audi and that he would send in a copy of their driving licence but he didn’t.

He was arrested and persisted in his story but evidence from his phone placed him in the area of the speed camera at the time.

Richard Wright QC said in mitigation that it was a sad but not unusual case of someone seeking to evade responsibility without appreciating how series an offence it was.

“He had found himself in a hole and continued to dig for some time,” Mr Wright said.

Leeming had made a bad error of judgement and one that was criminal, he conceded.

Mr Wright said that after a very serious motorcycle accident, his client had been forced to change careers after qualifying as a chartered surveyor.

He trained at programming computer software and mapping engines and now ran a very successful business that employed several people.

Leeming and his partner had four children between them, Mr Wright stated.

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Richard Mansell QC, said that people who committed such offences almost always went straight to prison.

Leeming had activated a speed camera at the Thornbury Gyratory while doing twice the speed limit and then foolishly submitted false details to the police.

When officers became rightly suspicious and began to investigate, he had ‘dug deeper.’ “Offences like this are most often met with an immediate custodial sentence,” Judge Mansell said.

But Leeming had a very good prospect of rehabilitation and he would not make the same mistake again.

He was sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, with 200 hours of unpaid work.

He was fined £500 and ordered to pay the £250 prosecution costs.

Judge Mansell said he had the power to ban Leeming from driving but he decided not to.