A father-of-three sped past an unmarked police car on his motorbike at 115mph, a court heard.

Matthew Grihault, of Mickle Way, Forest Hill, was caught on camera travelling southbound on the M40 at dangerous speeds with a pillion passenger on his 1,000cc Suzuki bike.

Oxford Crown Court yesterday heard the 25-year-old, who was on his way home, was spotted by roads policing officer Pc Perry Knight after unknowingly overtaking him.

Henry James, prosecuting, said after a short pursuit Grihault turned off towards Bicester, where he was spoken to by the officer.

Mr James said: "He accepted travelling probably about 115mph. He just wanted to get home as quickly as possible. These speeds are not speeds you should be travelling on the motorway."

He said on the night of the incident last May there had been heavy rain, a lot of spray and the light was fading.

Pc Knight, of Bicester Roads Policing, said he had just finished unsuccessfully pursuing another driver and was travelling at about 80mph when Grihault sped past him.

The 1.5-mile pursuit was filmed on his car's camera and the recording was played to the jury. It showed Pc Knight telling Grihault: "If you had crashed or had a blow-out you would have swerved, and you would not have had a chance."

Grihault, a self-employed construction worker, had denied dangerous driving but was convicted. He told the court his motorbike was capable of up to 190mph and added he would do nothing to put himself or his passenger - the mother of his three children - in danger.

And he said: "I was over the speed limit, which I should not have been, obviously, but I felt safe to do so at the time."

Gareth Morley, defending, said: "It is high-speed, it is thoroughly reprehensible, but that in itself does not make it dangerous driving. You don't see anyone having to take defensive action or having to brake. He is only using a part of the maximum power available to him."

He said Grihault, who had a clean driving licence, stopped quickly and safely when he realised the officer was following.

Judge Julian Hall banned Grihault from driving for 12-months and ordered him to pay a £500 fine and £400 costs.

He said: "Doing 115mph at Brands Hatch - that is fine - on the M40, absolutely not. If someone does something silly -catastrophe."