London: A British man said he spent tens of thousands of pounds in savings earmarked for his children's inheritance unsuccessfully fighting a speeding fine -- for £100 ($123, 112 euros), the BBC reported Tuesday.
Richard Keedwell, 71, from Gloucestershire in western England, was clocked driving 35 miles per hour (56 kph) on a 30-mph stretch of road in 2016.
He challenged the resulting fine, claiming he "could not believe" he had been speeding and that he had "no case to answer".
But his ultimately futile fight has taken three years to wind its way through the courts -- and cost Keedwell "the best part of £30,000" that he had eventually intended to pass on to his sons.
"I regret the amount of money," the legal crusader was quoted as saying. He said he felt guilty that his family would miss out on the funds and that the case had proved "very stressful".
"I very simply wanted justice," he said.
"I'm sick and tired at the whole system which is steamrolling ordinary people".
The retired engineer told the British broadcaster that around £21,000 had gone on lawyers' fees, another £7,000 on court costs, plus travel expenses.
He even recruited the help of a video and electronics expert who claimed the speed camera could have been triggered by a fault or another car in an adjacent lane.
Keedwell pursued the case through four lower court hearings and an appeal to a higher court, calling the legal system "seriously flawed" for requiring so many stages.
He was said to be considering whether to continue his legal action with another appeal.
British prosecutors blamed a "multiplicity of issues" for the three-year saga.
A prosecution service spokesman told the BBC that issues raised by the defence required additional hearings and expert evidence.
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