THE A449 in Monmouthshire is one of the worst roads in the country for speeding motorists according to Gwent Police figures.

The highest recorded speed in the region was 114mph on the A449 south of Usk, 44mph over the speed limit.

Independent motoring charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), put in a freedom of information request to police forces in Wales to discover which areas have the highest levels of speeding drivers.

With the top five recorded speeds published by IAM, all five of Gwent Police's highest cases were recorded on the A449 in Monmouthshire.

The A449 has a speed limit of 70mph through the region and the five published highest speeds were each in excess of 100mph.

During 2014, drivers were recorded doing 114mph, 110mph, 109mph (twice) and 103mph. This has put Gwent third out of the four police regions with Dyfed Powys recording speeds between 109mph and 102mph while the worst region to suffer from high speeds is North Wales. The country's highest recorded speed was 136mph in Conwy on a road with a 60mph speed limit.

The IAM continues to press for an increase in visible policing as an active deterrent with speeds of 140mph recorded five times in England during 2014.

It has also advocated advanced driving and riding tuition, and continuous development in skills to help achieve a drop in the numbers of people killed and seriously injured on UK roads.

Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: "Those guilty of this level of excessive speeding are clearly not be deterred by a short ban or fine.

"Their minds need to be concentrated to appreciate that they are putting other road users at significant danger by acting in this way. It is crucial that drivers and riders receive continuous development."

A spokesperson from GoSafe, which works in partnership with the four police forces in Wales, local authorities and Welsh Government, said: "The locations where highest speeds have been recorded are trunk roads carrying a high volume of traffic through Wales; therefore the proportion of drivers exceeding the speed limit represents a small percentage of the overall traffic flow.   

"The speeds identified represent one vehicle only, and should not be considered the usual speed of traffic on these roads. The presence of GoSafe means that offences such as these can be detected and dealt with appropriately.

"Motorists should comply with the relevant speed limit which is there for a reason. 

"Our main priority is to raise awareness of the issues and educate motorists about the effect of inappropriate speed, with enforcement being the last resort.   

"There is a simple message – cameras are in place to save lives."