The driver accused of the 89-mile jump tells the court it was “an elaborate story”.

A car enthusiast accused of averaging 100 km / h in a record attempt by John O’Groats to Land’s End claimed yesterday that he exaggerated his achievements in media interviews.

Thomas Davies appeared in national newspapers and on BBC Radio 2’s Jeremey Vine Show to brag about his trip.

He also produced a YouTube video and blogged on the Pistonheads website claiming he made the 841-mile journey in nine hours and 36 minutes – and only met a red light.

Normally it would take at least 15 hours to travel between the UK’s furthest points, which means he should have stopped an average of 100 km / h according to the court hearing.

But yesterday, Davies, who denies three cases of dangerous driving and two cases of corruption of justice, said his reports were part of an “exaggeration”.

He admitted to making the trip in September 2017 but said he was not driving at the time, but was in a car similar to his own, driven by Irish friends he had met in the car community.

Truro Crown Court previously heard that Davies, 29, had counterfeit records and was using scanning devices to avoid speed cameras. In a raid on his house in Corwen, North Wales, in 2018, the police found a silver Audi S5, a high-performance coupe, and an additional 80-liter fuel tank in the trunk.

They also found four transponders used to warn of speed cameras and a device that revealed the location of police cars.

Normally it would take at least 15 hours to drive between the UK’s furthest points, which means he should have stopped an average of 100 km / h according to the court hearing

Prosecutor Ryan Murray alleged the equipment showed he used “illegal methods” to break the record and avoid being caught accelerating.

He said Davies waited several months to tell the world about his record as speeding would have to be prosecuted within six months.

Yesterday Davies, who is representing himself, played a report from a radio show about his trip.

Two guest car experts spoke to the host about what he had claimed.

One said, “I would like to see evidence. I smell a rat. If his average speed were 90 mph, he should have reached 150 mph. “And he said that the police or other witnesses who saw such truck drivers saw it.

The other guest asked if this was a PR stunt.

Davies told the jury, “There is considerable focus and attention [in this case] on tabloid interviews, radio and blog posts. ”

He said that despite the amount of detail in the blog posts, the media overlooked the fact that it was “all an exaggeration of real life”.

He added, “It was nothing more than an elaborately and thoroughly researched story based on an actual journey seven months later with other people. A real trip that was a little slower.

“In retrospect, it was a very stupid thing, but I’ve grown up a lot over the past three years.”

He said there was no evidence he had an extra fuel tank in 2017 when he claimed to have broken the record. It was found by police who executed a search warrant in 2018.

Davies said he had the extra tank because he was competing in the 2019 Cannonball Memorial Run from California to Washington DC.

He said the other gear in his car was for the same race.

Defense witness and speed camera expert William Campbell told the jury that none of the equipment policemen had determined that “the activation of the speed cameras could have been prevented”.

The process continues.

Prosecutor Ryan Murray alleged the equipment showed he used “illegal methods” to break the record and avoid being caught accelerating. He said Davies waited several months to tell the world about his record as speeding would have to be prosecuted within six months