Rio Ferdinand given driving ban

Former England footballer Rio Ferdinand has been banned from driving for six months after admitting a speeding charge.

The ex-manchester United star, who is now a football pundit, was caught doing more than 70mph in a Mercedes on the A27 at Hangleton in Hove on the south coast on July 22 last year.

The 41-year-old father-ofthree was disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for six months having hit a speed of 85mph, and was ordered to pay a total of £822 in fines and costs, court officials confirmed.

Ferdinand attended the hearing at Crawley Magistrates’ Court yesterday morning.

He was previously caught speeding in his luxury Jaguar car three times in five weeks on the same road in Manchester in 2012.

He was fined and handed a six-month ban on that occasion, despite an argument from his lawyer at the time, Nick “Mr Loophole” Freeman, that he should only receive a shorter discretionary suspension.

Earlier this summer Ferdinand and his wife Kate Wright revealed they are expecting their first child together.

He has been in a relationship with the former The Only Way Is Essex star, 29, since 2017 following the death of his wife Rebecca in 2015 at the age of 34 after she was diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time.