A motorcyclist faces a hefty ban after being caught speeding at 160mph on the A47 at Thorney, near Wisbech.

The 56-year-old rider, who has not been named but is from Peterborough, was caught by officers on Sunday morning.

PC Dave Black, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Roads Policing Unit, said: 'The motorcyclist was travelling horrendously fast. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to be travelling at such speeds on public roads.

'Not only was he putting himself at danger, but also the lives of other road users.'

David Sanders, who represents the village on Peterborough City Council, added: 'That speed is insanity. It's not about him; it's about putting other people's lives in danger.

'His punishment needs to set an example because people need to be made aware that it's inappropriate and idiotic.'

A police spokesman said: 'I can't confirm whether this is the highest speed ever recorded in the county but it would be fair to say it is one of the highest.'

The offence has also been condemned by Tina Butcher, of Wisbech, who lost her son Jamie after he was killed by a speeding driver in the town six years ago. She said: 'It seems that we hear these stories time and time again. I can't say it surprises us anymore.

'Nobody is telling you to drive dangerously. It just leaves families, like us, devastated and left to pick up the pieces.'

Mrs Butcher, who runs Justice for Jamie, a campaign to get tougher sentences for dangerous drivers, said Michael Moore, of Parson Drove, the man who killed her son, was driving at 58mph in a 30mph zone and crossed a red light when he ploughed into Jamie. Moore was jailed for 43 months.

She said: ''We thought 43 months in prison was ridiculous. There are a lot of families from all over the country who are campaigning because their loved ones have been killed.

'It's not the sort of thing we want to be involved in but we have to because Jamie isn't here to speak up for himself.

'If we can get something done to change the law, we feel as if we have done something for him.'

In the five years from 2011-2015 there have been 172 fatal or serious collisions in Cambridgeshire where at least one driver was reported to be exceeding the speed limit or driving too fast for the conditions, resulting in 25 fatalities and 191 people being seriously injured.