A MOTHER who raced to her doctor fearing her young son would choke was taken to court and fined for being 11mph over the speed limit.

Sandra Gordon, 36, of Brockenhurst Avenue, Maidstone, was "flashed" by a speed camera in Sutton Road as she raced to her doctor's surgery with Harrison, five.

The distressed little boy had swallowed a pair of joke teeth while playing with his sisters and a friend.

Mrs Gordon said: "My son came running out and said: 'Mum, I've swallowed something.

"He has got a set of false teeth and fangs. There are nine in the box and I searched for them and one was missing."

The concerned mum tried to get her son to make himself sick, but he only became distressed.

Not wanting to call an ambulance, Mrs Gordon put Harrison, daughters Francine, eight, and Jessica, 10, and their friend in the car and drove to The Mote Medical Practice, St Saviour's Road, with Harrison in shock at having the toy lodged in his throat.

Mrs Gordon said: "As I was approaching the speed camera, I thought: 'Do I slow down?'

"But if it had moved, and he ended up choking, I would never have forgiven myself for not going through the camera."

Mrs Gordon's car was clocked travelling at 41mph in a 30mph zone, but she carried on to the doctor's surgery, where she was told to take her son to casualty.

After an examination at Maidstone Hospital, Harrison was allowed home and later passed the plastic teeth with no ill effects.

But a few weeks after the incident in August last year Mrs Gordon received a letter to say she would be fined £60 and her licence endorsed with three penalty points.

Mrs Gordon wrote to the Crown Prosecution Service explaining the circumstances and expecting that they would drop the charges.

Instead, she was taken to court where magistrates ordered her to pay the £60 fine plus £35 costs - although they did not endorse her licence.

Mrs Gordon, a hairdresser, said: "I was pleased that they let me off the points, but I was shocked I had to pay £95.

"If I had done it through the post it would have been £60. They took me to court. I didn't want to go to court. My husband took the afternoon off to support me.

"It was upsetting. The first thing I did when I came out was burst into tears.

"It had been hanging over me. I did feel that I was being punished for looking after the welfare of my son. I thought I was saving taxpayers' money by getting there under my own steam."