A father was given a ticket for exceeding the speed limit by 9mph when he followed an ambulance rushing his sick daughter to hospital. Frantic Kevin Theaker dialled 999 when his daughter Sophie, 25, suffered a fit and stopped breathing in the shower at home. He jumped into his car and followed the ambulance but was clocked by a speed camera doing 39mph in a 30 zone and got a ticket with a £100 fine and three penalty points. But when he appealed to police - even sending in proof of his daughter's hospital admission - he was told the ticket couldn't be cancelled. Sophie Theaker and her father Kevin, who was fined for driving 9mph over the speed limit as he followed her ambulance to hospital when she had an epileptic fit . Mr Theaker's 2006 Toyota Celica, in which he was caught speeding during the rush to hospital . Unsympathetic officers at Northumbria Police told him he will have to take the case to court if he wants to challenge the fixed penalty notice. Mr Theaker, 56, said: 'The police always ask for the public's help, but what about when we need their help? 'She was in a really bad state, I thought I'd lost her. If I had been doing 90mph I would have held my hands up.' The trauma began on August 20 when Mr Theaker, a manufacturing team leader, heard a noise in the bathroom at the family's home in Sunderland. He dashed upstairs to find his daughter lying collapsed and lifeless in the shower and shouted for his wife Susan, 53, to call for help. An ambulance quickly arrived and his daughter's boyfriend Tony Thompson, 28, accompanied her in it while her brother Curtis, 21, followed in his van. Mr Theaker also followed the ambulance in his 2006 Celica GT Special Edition, which he bought new about eight years ago for £22,500. Mr Theaker said: 'The sound I heard her make in the shower, it took me over a week to get over it. It was like a horrible moan. Kevin Theaker and his wife Linda, pictured in June last year. The two thought their daughter was dying when she suddenly suffered an epileptic fit . Sophie Theaker was rushed to Sunderland Royal Hospital (pictured) after she collapsed . 'She stopped breathing for a couple of seconds. I went and grabbed her. She was in a very stiff position. It was like taking a doll out of the shower. 'I was screaming at my wife to get an ambulance. I thought that was it. Her heart rate was 130 when the paramedics arrived.' On the way to Sunderland Royal Hospital a fixed speed camera caught him speeding and two weeks later he got the fine from Northumbria Police. He wrote to their fixed penalty unit pleading for leniency given the circumstances - but they refused to relent. He said: 'I even sent Sophie's wristband to prove she had been in hospital and the parking ticket to show we were there from 10pm until 2am.' Ms Theaker, a steward, has now been diagnosed with epilepsy and has returned to work with tablets she will have to take for the rest of her life. Northumbria Police Temporary Chief Inspector John Heckels said: 'While we understand and sympathise with Mr Theaker's situation there is a specific process in place for motorists to challenge speeding enforcement. 'He now has the option of accepting the ticket, attending a speed awareness course or challenging the fixed penalty notice in the magistrates court, where he'll be able to put forward his specific circumstances for consideration.'
Kevin Theaker's daughter  rushed to hospital in ambulance after suffering fit .
He followed it to hospital in his car, exceeding the speed limit by 9mph .
On the way he was snapped by a speed camera and received a £100 fine .
But police have refused to cancel Mr Theaker's fine and penalty points .
A father was given a ticket for exceeding the speed limit by 9mph when he followed an ambulance rushing his sick daughter to hospital. Frantic Kevin Theaker dialled 999 when his daughter Sophie, 25, suffered a fit and stopped breathing in the shower at home. He jumped into his car and followed the ambulance but was clocked by a speed camera doing 39mph in a 30 zone and got a ticket with a £100 fine and three penalty points. But when he appealed to police - even sending in proof of his daughter's hospital admission - he was told the ticket couldn't be cancelled. Sophie Theaker and her father Kevin, who was fined for driving 9mph over the speed limit as he followed her ambulance to hospital when she had an epileptic fit . Mr Theaker's 2006 Toyota Celica, in which he was caught speeding during the rush to hospital . Unsympathetic officers at Northumbria Police told him he will have to take the case to court if he wants to challenge the fixed penalty notice. Mr Theaker, 56, said: 'The police always ask for the public's help, but what about when we need their help? 'She was in a really bad state, I thought I'd lost her. If I had been doing 90mph I would have held my hands up.' The trauma began on August 20 when Mr Theaker, a manufacturing team leader, heard a noise in the bathroom at the family's home in Sunderland. He dashed upstairs to find his daughter lying collapsed and lifeless in the shower and shouted for his wife Susan, 53, to call for help. An ambulance quickly arrived and his daughter's boyfriend Tony Thompson, 28, accompanied her in it while her brother Curtis, 21, followed in his van. Mr Theaker also followed the ambulance in his 2006 Celica GT Special Edition, which he bought new about eight years ago for £22,500. Mr Theaker said: 'The sound I heard her make in the shower, it took me over a week to get over it. It was like a horrible moan. Kevin Theaker and his wife Linda, pictured in June last year. The two thought their daughter was dying when she suddenly suffered an epileptic fit . Sophie Theaker was rushed to Sunderland Royal Hospital (pictured) after she collapsed . 'She stopped breathing for a couple of seconds. I went and grabbed her. She was in a very stiff position. It was like taking a doll out of the shower. 'I was screaming at my wife to get an ambulance. I thought that was it. Her heart rate was 130 when the paramedics arrived.' On the way to Sunderland Royal Hospital a fixed speed camera caught him speeding and two weeks later he got the fine from Northumbria Police. He wrote to their fixed penalty unit pleading for leniency given the circumstances - but they refused to relent. He said: 'I even sent Sophie's wristband to prove she had been in hospital and the parking ticket to show we were there from 10pm until 2am.' Ms Theaker, a steward, has now been diagnosed with epilepsy and has returned to work with tablets she will have to take for the rest of her life. Northumbria Police Temporary Chief Inspector John Heckels said: 'While we understand and sympathise with Mr Theaker's situation there is a specific process in place for motorists to challenge speeding enforcement. 'He now has the option of accepting the ticket, attending a speed awareness course or challenging the fixed penalty notice in the magistrates court, where he'll be able to put forward his specific circumstances for consideration.'
speed limit by 9mph when he followed an ambulance rushing his sick daughter to hospital. Frantic in the shower at home. He jumped into his car and followed the ambulance but was clocked by a speed with a £100 fine and three penalty points. But fit . Sophie Theaker was rushed to Sunderland was 130 when the paramedics arrived.' On the way and sympathise with Mr Theaker's situation there