Motorists driving at speeds in excess of 100mph were reported by two-thirds of Britain’s police forces new figures show.

The RAC has carried out an investigation into the number of motorists stopped for high speeds during the first three weeks of the coronavirus lockdown,

Norfolk Police appeared once in the data reporting a driver for 110mph in a 70 for the period, but the force has since reported several instances of motorists driving at speeds of up to 130mph.

The highest speed in the country was clocked at 151mph on the M62 motorway in West Yorkshire, which was 81mph over the limit.

The next fastest recorded speed was 140mph on the A14 in Suffolk.

More: Drivers told not to risk lives in lockdown as new speeding blitz launchedThe RAC sent freedom of information requests to all forces in Britain.

Twenty out of the 30 forces to provide data recorded speeds in excess of 100mph.

RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams called the speeds “truly shocking” and warned that motorists travelling this fast have “virtually no time to react should anything unexpected happen”.

He said: “Some drivers have taken advantage of quieter roads to speed excessively, putting the lives of others at risk at the worst possible time.

“It’s encouraging that so many police forces have taken firm action even during the lockdown, which sends a strong message to other would-be offenders.”

Department for Transport figures show that road traffic was around two-thirds lower than normal for the first few weeks after the lockdown was introduced on March 23, when people were urged to stay at home and avoid non-essential travel.

Across Britain there were 17,363 speeding offences recorded on roads with 30mph limits.

Mr Williams said: “The figures for speeding offences on 30mph roads are particularly worrying as far more people have been walking and cycling due to the lockdown.

“As some schools and nurseries in England begin to open their doors from this week, there will be even more pedestrians on the roads, so we urge every driver to obey the speed limit and keep all road users safe.”