McDonald’s magnate Paul Crocker was told he could have killed someone after speeding through Canterbury at 75mph in a Porsche 911.

The 57-year-old, who runs 17 of the fast food franchises across east Kent, lost his licence after he was flashed by a mobile speed camera along the 40mph Rheims Way.

He is now having to cycle from his £1.4 million house near Whitstable to his Thanet headquarters.

His 55-day driving ban was imposed despite legal efforts to overturn it on the grounds it was “manifestly excessive”.

Canterbury Crown Court heard how Crocker’s Porsche 911 Carrera was caught by a mobile speed camera along the Rheims Way at 11am on February 10.

Magistrates had earlier heard that he had already received penalty points for speeding in September 2013 and April 2014.

He was fined £960, told to pay £85 costs and banned from driving for 55 days.

Lawyer Ian Bond told the appeal panel that the sentence was “manifestly excessive” and asked the judge to allow him back on the road.

He told the hearing: “The chairman of the magistrates in her remarks said they found Mr Crocker was not a safe driver, that his driving had been in a built-up city area and he was lucky it had not caused serious harm or death.

“It is submitted that this was an extreme view of the facts. This was a momentary lapse, a matter of seconds.”

Mr Bond claimed that as he was putting forward personal mitigation to magistrates he was “cut very short” by the chairman of the bench, who told him: “Yes Mr Bond, your client is a successful businessman, we get it, but we have 86 cases in our list today.Can you please move on.”

The lawyer said the dual carriageway was about 500 metres long between the Victoria and Tannery roundabouts.

Mr Bond added: “I don’t wish to sound like an extract from an article in Top Gear magazine but Mr Crocker was driving a quality vehicle, able to go from 30mph to 75mph in the blink of an eye.

“Furthermore, it also has the most up-to-date and fantastic braking capacity. The four-wheel vehicle has a capacity to brake from 70mph to a very slow speed, which is extraordinary, because of its huge ceramic disc brakes.”

Judge Heather Norton asked: “So if someone ran out in front of him doing 75mph, there wouldn’t have been an accident?”

Mr Bond replied: “He accepts it was very bad behaviour and he is full of remorse and this has cost him dearly.”

He added that Crocker, who has restaurants in Canterbury and Chestfield, swapped his Porsche for a Mercedes with a speed limiter, adding: “This effectively allows the car to govern itself to maintain the speed limit at all times.”

The lawyer said Crocker decided to change the Porsche when he received notice of prosecution and now travels by bike, taxi or public transport.

He now cycles 40 miles to his headquarters in Thanet each day and does a “lot of work” for local charities, schools and sports clubs.

Judge Norton told him: “This was a 40mph zone for a reason and you were driving at a considerably greater speed than that.

“Whether you are a safe or unsafe driver, to drive at 75mph in a 40mph zone is unsafe and we have no difficulties in rejecting this appeal.”