Driving ban for Eddie Butler

Eddie Butler told the court he was very sorry

BBC presenter and former Welsh rugby captain Eddie Butler has been fined £500 and banned from driving for 56 days for speeding.

Butler, 46, was registered by speed cameras travelling at 66 mph in a 30 mph zone on the A449 at Raglan, Monmouthshire, last October.

Butler, who presents Scrum Five for BBC Wales, was not represented in court and told Newport magistrates that he lived in an isolated area and depended on his car.

Magistrates assessed his financial position, which was supplied to the court in written form.

They told Butler the fine was reduced because of his guilty plea.

Catherine Yardley, prosecuting, said: "He was in his Vauxhall Vectra when he was clocked at more than twice the speed limit."

Butler, a former teacher, said: "I am very sorry. I was going very quickly."

"All I can say is that I do a lot of driving - I live in an isolated spot, I'm just a country boy and that's my choice."

Butler, a Cambridge Blue who was capped 16 times by Wales, said: "On a personal level I need a car at the moment to visit my mother in hospital. I would appreciate not losing my licence."

The court was told he already had six points for speeding offences on his licence.

Bench chairwoman Janet McAllister told him: "We can find no reason for not disqualifying you.

"You will be banned from driving for eight weeks and if you have brought a car with you today you must not drive it home."