CONTROVERSIAL England rugby star Manu Tuilagi has been banned from driving after being caught speeding through roadworks.

The British and Irish Lions centre was told to forfeit his driving licence for 56 days, fined £1,000, ordered to pay a £100 victims' surcharge and court costs of £85 after pleading guilty to exceeding the 50mph limit on the A1(M) in North Yorkshire.

The 24-year-old attended Northallerton Magistrates Court for the hearing and spoke to confirm his name as Manusamoa Tuilagi and to admit the offence.

The court was told he had been driving an Audi Q5 through the 12-mile Barton and Leeming motorway upgrade average speed check area, shortly after midnight on Monday, December 29.

Tuilagi had been sidelined at the time of the offence with a groin injury.

A month before Tuilagi was clocked speeding, it was revealed 1,400 motorists had been caught in less than two months by the average speed cameras.

Deputy Chief Constable Tim Madgwick, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “It is vital that the people who are working on the highways are protected and have a safe environment to work in."

It is understood Tuilagi's ban will be viewed dimly by England rugby chiefs, who told the 24-year-old, of Braunstone, Leicester, two weeks ago that he would not play in the World Cup in the autumn after admitting assaulting police officers in the East Midlands city in April.

The Samoa-born Leicester Tigers player is considered one of the best outside centres in world rugby, but his career has been blighted by high-profile disciplinary breaches.

In 2011, Tuilagi was warned by police and fined £3,000 by England rugby officials after jumping from a ferry in New Zealand and in 2013 apologised to David Cameron for playing a 'bunny ears' photo prank on him during a visit to Downing Street.