A CHELSEA banker caught speeding told police he was racing to get to a stag party in Bristol.

Christopher David Austin Dix, 33, of Oakley Street, Chelsea, was caught driving his Jaguar F-Type sports car at 119mph along the M4 between junctions 16 and 17.

But the £2,000 he was fined is just one week's wages.

A police prosecutor bringing the case said Dix had been caught speeding shortly after 1pm on Saturday, April 21. She said: “When the officer spoke to Mr Dix he was cautioned, to which he replied, ‘I’m late to a wedding stag party in Bristol.”

Londoner Dix was unrepresented when he appeared before Swindon magistrates dressed in a smart dark suit and carrying a leather folder. Dix’s social media profile lists him as working at JP Morgan Chase investment bank and an alumnus of Eton College and the University of Oxford.

Pleading guilty to the speeding charge, he apologised for the offence: “I would just say from my side I have no real reasons. I’m just incredibly sorry and apologetic. I appreciate the speed limits are there for a reason.

“It was pretty uncharacteristic. I’m incredibly sorry. It was incredibly embarrassing.”

Chairman of the bench Peter Hyson said: “You don’t need the bench to tell you the speed of 119mph on a motorway is incredibly dangerous in the middle of the day.”

He was fined £2,275, the equivalent of a week’s salary for the Chelsea resident, and ordered he pay £85 costs and a £170 victim surcharge.

Magistrates also banned him from driving for 56 days. Mr Hyson said: “This is the top of the level and it’s taking into account the speed you were taking.”

Following the hearing, a spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: “Speed limits are there for a reason, and if you aren’t driving within these limits you aren’t in proper control of your vehicle nor are you safe.

"There are never any excuses to be driving at this kind of speed.

"We would also urge all drivers who decide to vastly exceed the speed limit to consider the implications a disqualification could have on their lives."