FOOTBALL star Titus Bramble was banned from the roads for seven weeks and fined £2,000 yesterday after he admitted driving at speeds of up to 102mph on a dual carriageway and breaching the terms of his driving licence.

The 22-year-old Newcastle United defender failed to appear before magistrates in his home town of Ipswich, Suffolk, but was convicted in his absence. He was also ordered to pay £500 prosecution costs.

Two police officers caught Bramble travelling at 102mph in a BMW X5 on the A14 at Sproughton, Suffolk, in January. He failed to produce a driving licence and was accused of failing to display L-plates while driving on a provisional licence.

Sentencing him, chairman of the magistrates Anne Parry said: "This was a very serious case of speeding because Mr Bramble was driving at a very high speed."

Barry Warburton, defending, told the court that Bramble had passed his driving test three years ago but had failed to send the test certificate to the DVLA and was officially driving without a licence.

In entering the guilty pleas for his client, Mr Warburton said Bramble was a man of substantial disposable income and accepted that a ban was almost inevitable, but said that a disqualification from the road would damage his family life.

Mr Warburton said: "Anyone who drives more than 30mph over the speed limit is going to lose their licence.

"The disqualification will cause him considerable hardship and difficulties.

''His family is in Ipswich and he lives in Newcastle. Even a short disqualification will cause him considerable trouble.''

Last September, Bramble was convicted of the charges in his absence by Ipswich magistrates. In October, those convictions were quashed and set aside by the same court.

Bramble's lawyer at the time, Ian Duckworth, said there had been confusion about whether Bramble needed to attend on the day he was convicted and presiding magistrate Bernard Hindes ordered a new trial ''in the interests of justice".

Speaking after informing Bramble of the sentence, Mr Warburton said: ''He's just glad it's all over.''