Thousands of motorists will belatedly receive speeding tickets after the High Court ruled yesterday that a 2cm black trim on a traffic sign was legal.

Motorists caught speeding on Tower Bridge had claimed that its four 20mph signs were prohibited under the 1984 Road Traffic Regulation Act because of their border. The High Court threw out their appeal against their convictions, ruling that it was based on a technicality and “utterly devoid of merit”.

The City of London, which collects money from speeding drivers on the bridge, said that 10,000 prosecutions had been put in abeyance because of the legal case and added that it would now be collecting the fines. Each of the drivers caught in the 20mph zone is also due to receive three penalty points.

The RAC Foundation had said that, had the appeal succeeded, several hundred drivers who had paid their fines would have been entitled to ask for their money back and for the points to be wiped off their licences.

Richard Sharpe, counsel for the six motorists, who brought the challenge with the backing of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said that they all accepted that they had been driving faster than 20mph when caught on camera between June and August 2005. But, he said, there was effectively no enforceable speed restriction in place on the bridge because of the casing around the illuminated signs at the entrance to the 20mph zone. Mr Sharpe said that this casing, a thin black lip or border, was not prescribed by the regulations, which rendered the whole sign unlawful.

But Sir Igor Judge, President of the High Court’s Queen’s Bench Division, said that the overall visibility of the sign was not obstructed by the border and there was no question of a motorist being misled.

He said the trim was virtually invisible to drivers, meaning that there was no breach of the 1984 Act, adding: “This is somewhat of a relief as the appeal was based entirely on a technicality that was utterly devoid of merit and should be dismissed.”

His colleague Mr Justice Lloyd Jones said that even if the signs did not comply with the regulations, the complaint was misconceived and was “so minor that it may be disregarded”.

The motorists were ordered to pay £1,500 towards the prosecution’s costs.

Simon Walsh, a magistrate with the City of London, said after the ruling: “About 10,000 summonses are waiting to be processed. They were put on hold pending these test cases which have been rambling on for well over a year.” He said that motorists caught speeding on Tower Bridge could now expect to receive fines of between £100 and £150 on average, depending on their means, plus three penalty points on their driving licences.

Timothy Canadine, one of the motorists who had brought the appeal after being convicted of speeding at Marylebone Magistrates’ Court, said that he was disappointed with the ruling. Mr Canadine said that there was no need for the speed-limit on the bridge, adding: “It’s just another sign that they are demonising motorists and stealing money from us.”

Richard Massett, of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said that there were no plans to appeal to the Lords.

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