A MOTORIST who was cleared by a sheriff of dangerous driving after being caught speeding at 156mph while holding a mobile phone has been found guilty by the Appeal Court.

Ronald Klos, from Markinch, Fife, was caught speeding on the A92, near Kirkcaldy, in May last year by a mobile speed camera unit. He was also charged with using a mobile phone while driving and of not having vehicle licence plates on his car which were recognised by the DVLA in Swansea.

However, the case against Mr Klos, 37 collapsed after a sheriff ruled prosecutors had not served vital court papers. Sheriff Paul Arthurson said the Crown had failed to supply Mr Klos with a notice of intended prosecution, which it was legally obliged to do. He said he was forced by a matter of law to find Mr Klos not guilty of all charges at a hearing at Kirkcaldy in September.

At the Criminal Court of the Appeal yesterday, Lord Gill, the lord justice-clerk, overturned Sheriff Arthurson's decision and found Mr Klos guilty of driving dangerously at more than twice the speed limit in his BMW M3 CSL while holding his mobile phone. He was also found guilty of failing to tell police who was driving his vehicle at the time of the offence.

The case has now been referred back to Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court for sentencing.

In a written judgment, Lord Gill, sitting with Lords Philip and Sutherland, said: "We cannot say whether 156mph is the highest speed ever recorded on a Scottish road, but we suspect itmust be among the highest. The mere fact of holding the phone to his ear meant he was controlling this vehicle with only one hand on the wheel.

"In the result we have, without difficulty, come to the conclusion that the sheriff was in error by giving too much attention to the absence of evidence as to actual danger and by not giving sufficient attention to the inherent quality of what the respondent was doing at the time and to the foreseeable consequences of such actings."

After Sheriff Arthurson's original decision, motoring organisations called on the lord advocate to investigate the blunder, while a senior police officer said the matter raised questions about the prosecution process involved.

Last night, Neil Greig, head of policy for the AA Motoring Trust in Scotland, said: "We are obviously pleased the appeal court have taken this seriously. The original verdict gave out a mixed message."

Chief Superintendent Tom Buchan, president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, said: "It is clearly a matter of public concern that an incident such as this could fall because of an administrative error."