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Gareth Cliff spent 'minutes' in jail

Johannesburg - Controversial 5FM radio personality Gareth Cliff spent several minutes in jail after he was caught speeding in Pretoria on Tuesday night.

"I spent a couple of minutes behind bars, like a bad ass... but I was glad to be back home," Cliff told Talk Radio 702 early on Wednesday.

He said he was returning home after filming his reality television show Idols in Durban.

"You know how it is, you just want to get home because you're exhausted, and before you know it there are blue [police] lights."

Trending on Twitter

Gauteng traffic police spokesperson Busaphi Nxumalo said on Tuesday that Cliff was arrested after being caught driving 182 km/h in a 120km/h zone on the R21 in Lyttelton.

Early on Wednesday Cliff took to social media site Twitter to clarify reports on his arrest.

"Rumours of my imprisonment are greatly exaggerated," he tweeted shortly after midnight.

The news of the shock jock's arrest began trending on Twitter, under the hashtag FreeGarethCliff.

Some users expressed their sympathy for Cliff, but one said: "Just because he's the best radio host in the country doesn't mean we just overlook his wrongdoings."

He was scheduled to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court later on Wednesday.

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