Tyneside TV presenter Ant McPartlin has been banned from driving after being clocked at 127mph by an unmarked police car.

The other half of the Ant and Dec team was caught on a 70mph stretch of the A1(M), near Bowburn, County Durham.

Magistrates banned the star for 30 days and fined him �350.

The 27-year-old pleaded guilty to speeding when he appeared before Chester-le-Street magistrates.

Ant McPartlin pleaded guilty to speeding

McPartlin, who now lives in Chiswick, west London, is understood to have been on his way to visit relatives on July 27 when he was stopped in his Audi TT sports car.

After the hearing, he said: "It was silly and I have learnt my lesson."

A Durham Police spokesman said: "Even though it was a summer's evening, driving at 127mph is folly."

Ant and his co-star Declan Donnelly, also 27, shot to fame in 1989 when they appeared in the hit TV teenage drama Byker Grove.

They recently took three prizes at the National TV Awards and were named the most popular entertainment presenters.

The pair, who sang England's World Cup song We're On The Ball, also presented celebrity survivor show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.