Ant McPartlin is one half of an outstanding North-East success story.

Television double act Ant and Dec have the Midas touch. From Byker Grove, they became household names through SM:tv and Pop Idol, and their popularity - and personal fortunes - have mounted.

They are charming, funny and appealing to young and old. The North-East is justifiably proud of them.

But the revelation that Ant McPartlin has been banned from driving after being caught speeding at 127 miles per hour is no laughing matter.

And neither is the sentence that was handed out by Chester-le-Street Magistrates.

At a time when the Government is striving to make speeding as socially unacceptable as drink driving, a 30-day ban and £350 fine is out of step with an offence which could easily have had tragic repercussions.

Anyone who is driving at 127 miles per hour is not in control of their vehicle and McPartlin is lucky he was not standing before a court on far more serious charges.

No wonder he said after the hearing that he had no complaints about the ban being imposed.

He has ended up with a light slap on the wrists when magistrates had a high-profile opportunity to send out a more effective message that speeding is a real danger.

We hope he can be taken at his word that this was a one-off offence and that he has learned his lesson.