Speeding Cookie Monster car owner refuses to name driver - and police are stuck

Bizarre speed camera snaps showed an Audi hatchback tearing through a traffic cop speed trap at nearly 60 mph in Germany with the driver wearing the Sesame Street outfit.

Now it has emerged that the 57-year-old owner of the motor, from Hagen, has coughed up a EUR-40 fine for speeding but would not identify who was behind the wheel.

Frustrated police in Dortmund, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, are now powerless to pursue the driver. Under German law, car owners cannot be forced to give evidence against their will.

Traffic expert lawyer Arndt Kempgens told local media: "The owner usually has the right to refuse to give evidence. But if he admits to wearing the mask or naming the driver, it can be more expensive. Violating the ban on wearing a mask while driving can be punished with an additional EUR 60 (£50)."

The row began when astonished cops found they'd caught the beloved googly-eyed kids' TV favourite driving at 91kph in an 80kph zone earlier this month. Although they could track down the car's owner from its number plates, the police could not identify the driver because of the costume.

Po-faced police spokesman Peter Bandermann said at the time: "The fun of wearing a mask from the Muppet Show can quickly turn serious. It won't help the relatives of a person who has been killed if the person who did it tearfully regrets their mask fun in court."

The blue, furry Cookie Monster has been a favourite on the Muppet Show since 1969, notorious for gobbling down huge quantities of chocolate chip biscuits.

Resigned to never unearthing the driver's true identity, one police spokesperson told local media: "The Cookie Monster is basically a good-natured creature, very greedy, but ultimately it seems, also dutiful."

Story: NewsX