It was just another day in the working life of Mr Loophole yesterday.

Another celebrity in the dock on driving charges and another obscure — but fatal — flaw in procedure revealed just in time to ensure that the prosecution’s case stalls before you can say “speeding fine”. The star walks free, reputation intact and driving licence blissfully unblemished.

This time it was the turn of the England cricketer Andrew Flintoff to benefit from Nick Freeman’s flair with the finer points of motoring law.

The alleged offence: driving at 87mph in a 50mph zone, which was recorded by a camera. The only problem (for prosecution lawyers): his prosecution notice was sent two days late.

It was enough for “Freddie” Flintoff to be told by Liverpool Magistrates’ Court that the Crown would offer no evidence against him.

His acquittal was yet another victory for Mr Freeman, the lawyer nicknamed Mr Loophole, and will surely heighten his appeal to famous people who find themselves in potentially tricky predicaments after encountering speed cameras and breathalysers.

Equally likely is the disapproval of responsible driving campaigners, who complain that Mr Freeman’s record of defending famous people in fast cars comes at the expense of other less well-known people’s safety.

The former England cricket captain, whose drunken antics have been reported widely, was driving someone else’s car when he was photographed allegedly speeding in a temporary 50mph zone on the M62 near Liverpool on July 1 last year.

The owner who received the notice, an unidentified woman from Bicester, Oxfordshire, attended court to give evidence but was not needed.

Outside court, Mr Freeman said: “It is fundamental in any speeding case that the notice is sent and received within 14 days.” But the document had arrived only on July 19. “It happens a lot if people care to look at it,” he said.

Mr Flintoff, 30, of Altrincham, Cheshire, spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth. On leaving the court, however, he signed autographs for staff before walking to a Volkswagen 4x4. He declined to speak when he left court, but Mr Freeman said: “He is very relieved to have the matter disposed of. Now he can concentrate on his cricket.”

Mr Freeman, who has trademarked his nickname, believes that the two years that he spent in the early part of his career working on behalf of Greater Manchester Police opened his eyes to failures of police procedure.

He came to the public’s attention in 1999 when he defended Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, who had been caught driving along the hard shoulder of the motorway. The lawyer’s defence — that Sir Alex was rushing to find a lavatory because he had diarrhoea — saved him from penalty points on his licence.

Mr Freeman went on to secure acquittal for David Beckham — citing duress of circumstance as the footballer was trying to escape the paparazzi at the time. Another footballer client, Dwight Yorke, escaped a driving ban by arguing that the police had not used a speed gun correctly. His speed had been measured as 85mph.

Perhaps his greatest coup was the acquittal of the snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan. In December 2001 he was accused of racing two women along an East London street in his Porsche at 2am. It did not look good: he failed three breath tests and refused a blood test citing a fear of needles. Mr Freeman’s winning argument? Mr O’Sullivan had been unable to give a urine sample because his depression made him too stressed to urinate.

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