SkyNews
A software developer claims he has done what millions of motorists have dreamed of doing - beating a speed camera - by using a device he made himself that everyone could soon get their hands on.
Speed cameras are unpopularBut the police say his gizmo is no match for their Gatsos.
Phillip Tann was driving through Sunderland when he was caught by a mobile camera trap, which clocked him doing 41mph in a 30mph zone.
But at the time he happened to be trialling his new invention - a mobile phone speed and distance recorder which he says is comparable to an aircraft's "black box" in-flight recorder.
He says it told him he was in fact doing 29.177196mph at the time.
He was hauled before magistrates and charged with speeding.
But before he could prove himself as the motorist's saviour the case was dropped because the prosecuting officer had left the force and could not come to court.
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With Tann claiming a moral victory, the speed camera operators have been quick to refute his claims.
The Northumbria Safer Roads Initiative, which is in charge of speed cameras in Sunderland, said Dr Tann was trying to use his new device to hide his bad driving.
Their spokesman Jeremy Forsberg said: "Speed kills, and we can prove he was driving too fast in a built up area where there are lots of pedestrians likely to be crossing the road."
That's a view shared by Northumbria police who insist the camera reading was accurate and well-maintained, whereas Tann's device only records an average speed.
Dr Phillip Tann's new inventionChief Inspector Kevin Wellden said: "We are fully satisfied this camera was properly calibrated and gave a correct and accurate reading when the motorist passed it. The 29mph refers to an average speed over a certain distance."
In his office in Birtley, County Durham, Dr Tann admitted to Sky News that the GPS-based system he is developing records the average speed of a vehicle fitted with his device.
Using a combination of GPS and mobile phone technology it transmits data back to a server at different intervals depending on how fast the vehicle is travelling.
If he was driving at 41mph as the police camera claims, it would only show his average speed over 41 metres - enough distance, say the Northumbria Safer Roads Initiative, to speed up and slow down again.
Tann claims his invention, which he hopes to eventually sell as an application for mobile phones, has built-in error-checking abilities and never lies.
With his court case abandoned, we have to take his word for it.
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