Footballer 'was chased by police at 125mph'

Published on Friday 3 July 2009 22:20

A FOOTBALLER told police he was on his way to a nightclub after a 125mph chase, a court heard yesterday.

Aberdeen striker Lee Miller, 26, was allegedly recorded driving at up to 120mph on the A90 Aberdeen to Dundee road.

He is also alleged to have driven at 90mph along a 40mph limit through a contraflow set up on the dual carriageway.

Miller was charged with dangerous driving after the alleged incident on 30 March last year.

During his trial at Stonehaven Sheriff Court yesterday, a police officer told how officers struggled to catch up with him at 125mph after spotting his car on the road shortly after midnight.

Police Constable Alistair MacLeod said: "We saw a car travelling south. It was quite clear it was travelling in excess of the 70mph limit. When you do this job as a traffic officer, you get a fair indication of how fast cars are going. However, on this particular night the car wasgrossly over the speed limit."

The officer said they saw Miller's car while parked in a patrol car at Fourdon junction near an accident blackspot.

He said they went in pursuit of the vehicle at 125mph, but the officers believed they were not going to catch up with him.

Mr MacLeod said: "I remember at that point I turned to my colleague and said 'This guy has escaped. We're not going to get him'. I was concerned something was going to go horribly wrong. It just needs a puddle in the road. If someone is going to crash a car at that speed the minimum that could happen is serious injury."

He said the speedometer in the police car showed an average speed of 90mph through a contraflow system for roadworks.

Asked if the footballer gave any explanation for his driving, he replied: "He had some text from his girlfriend, some nightclub he wanted to go back to."

Miller, of Perth, denies the charge of dangerous driving. The trial continues.