Businessmen praised a speed awareness course they were sent on after being caught speeding in Cumbria.

Keswick guest house owner David Fisher, who runs the Howe Keld B & B, said he was caught on his way to Kendal to pick up some bathroom tiles driving at 47 mph in a 40 limit – when he thought it was a 50 mph zone.

“It is so easy to be unaware of what speed limit you are in. I have always found that to be the hardest thing to recognise what the speed limit is. It is easy to find yourself on the fringe of a town and not know what the speed limit is.”

But after attending the course run by the TTC Group, Mr Fisher, who has been driving for 36 years, said he found it now “stuck in his mind” how to ensure what the speed limit was.

Businessman Tim Champion, director of a firm selling batteries, who was caught on camera in Cumbria doing 48 mph in a 40 said he found the course “very useful.”

A motorist with 34 years experience on the roads, he said the four hour course “shot by” and he was surprised how useful the information was that he had learned.

“I came away very positive about the experience. I left much more aware about what speed I should be doing,” said Mr Champion, who added that he attended the course to benefit his driving rather than because he would not get three points on his licence.

“I have been left with a greater sense of speed awareness. It is amazing that you don’t know what the speed limit is sometimes.

“The trainers were excellent. Everyone took part and we all did more than 15,000 miles a year.”

Cumbria Constabulary introduced the education courses run by the TTC Group – the UK’s largest provider of speed awareness courses to help reduce casualties on Cumbria roads.

TTC director Malcolm Jones said: “We teach drivers how to stick to speed limits and stay safe on the roads. Driving is one of the most dangerous activities most of us will ever do and we all need extra tips sometimes on how to avoid the distress of experiencing a road crash.”

The TTC Group, the leading provider of education for drink drive offenders in the UK, also runs RIDE courses for motorcyclists and the National Driver Improvement Scheme in Cumbria.