HAMPSHIRE’S new law and order champion has taken up her duties - a century after her grandfather became one of Britain’s first speeders.

The Hon Mary Montagu-Scott’s role as the county’s latest High Sheriff is to support the police and the judiciary as well as promoting crime prevention across the county.

The 52-year-old sailing enthusiast is the daughter of the previous Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, founder of the National Motor Museum.

She is preparing to host a new event called The 999 Show, which will be held at the award-winning museum on May 29 and will include Community Speedwatch demonstrations.

Ironically her grandfather, the second Lord Montagu, was one of the first people to be fined for speeding.

He fell foul of the law in 1902 after “unlawfully driving a light locomotive at a greater speed than twelve miles an hour”.

The peer was caught by a plain-clothes policeman riding a bicycle and fined £1, plus 12 shillings costs.

After becoming MP for the New Forest the following year he went on to promote a bill which raised the speed limit from 12 to 20 mph.

Mrs Montagu-Scott, sister of the current Lord Montagu, will be Hampshire’s High Sherriff for a year.

Wearing a ceremonial blue velvet frock made by Beaulieu-based seamstress Ann Scott she was installed at Winchester Crown Court at a ceremony attended by a High Court judge, Mr Justice Warby.

She said: “I am so looking forward to the year ahead and having the privilege of meeting so many interesting and dedicated people working in law and order in our great county.

“I have decided not to pick one theme for the year but to help as many organisations as much as possible throughout my term in office.”

The 999 Show aims to celebrate the work of the emergency services as well as providing a fun day out for families from across the south.

Members of all three emergency services will be taking part, plus coastguards and representatives from the judiciary, the NHS and the prison and probation services.

A Community Speedwatch team will monitor the speeds of vehicles trundling around the grounds of the museum including a veteran car and a Penny Farthing bicycle.

Mrs Montagu-Scott is also chairman of the New Forest Ninth Centenary Trust, which runs the New Forest Centre in Lyndhurst, and commodore of the Beaulieu River Sailing Club.