Company director lands court bill of nearly £4,000 for speeding and ignoring Red X lane closure sign on M1 near Northampton

Highways England and emergency services warn ignoring Red X lane closure motorway signs can lead to deadly collisions

Magistrates banned a Northampton company director and handed him a whopping fine after he piled up points by speeding on motorways three times in the space of 27 days.

According to court documents, Brandford Nettey Jnr was caught by enforcement cameras twice in December 2023 and again in January — all on various stretches of the M6. He then ignored a ‘red X’ lane closure signal on the M1 near Northampton on July 16 — leading to his appearance at the town’s magistrates court on November 20.

The 43-year-old, of Harcourt Way, admitted speeding in a Jaguar XE on the M6 near Cannock, Staffs, on December 7 — when he was clocked at 61mph while a 50mph temporary speed limit was in force — at Penrith in Cumbria on December 22 and again at 85mph near Plumpton, Warwickshire, on January 2.

Nettey, who is listed at Companies House as sole director of Northampton-registered firm Experience Healthcare Professionals Ltd, was given three fines of £769 plus one of £384. He was also ordered to pay £1,076 surcharge to fund victim services and £110 towards prosecution costs. The court bill totalled £3,877 while he was disqualified from holding a licence for six months due to repeat offending.

Highways England launched a campaign in 2023 backed by emergency services aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of ignoring ‘red X’ signs on motorways and warned automatic enforcement cameras were being used to detect vehicles entering closed lanes.

The signs are used on smart motorways with no hard shoulder — including the M1 through Northamptonshire — to warn other drivers when obstructions such as broken-down vehicles are detected in the road ahead. They say that ignoring the closure signal can lead to serious and even deadly collisions.

National Highways Traffic Officer, Dave Harford, said: “We don’t take the decision to close lanes lightly, but when we do, drivers must obey the closure.

“A Red X signal is there for the safety of everyone on the road — including people in difficulty, traffic officers, recovery and emergency services helping them, and all other road users besides.

“Thankfully, the vast majority of drivers do comply with the signals. But those who don’t put themselves and others at risk.”