ONE of the wealthiest aristocrats in Britain has been barred from motoring after amassing double the amount of points needed to be banned from the roads.

Northallerton Magistrates Court heard the 11th Duke of Rutland, whose homes include a stately home and Haddon Hall, in Derbyshire – the setting for the film Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly – had been caught speeding on four separate occasions between March and November last year.

Magistrates were told the noble, whose name was given in court as David Charles Rutland and address as Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, had driven a Land Rover Discovery through a 50mph restricted speed section of the A1 between Barton and Scotch Corner on the A1 during the evening rush hour on September 21 at an average speed of 61mph.

The duke, whose wealth was estimated to be £140million on the Sunday Times Rich List, was also twice caught driving the car at 73mph and 59mph in a 50mph zone near Lowdham, Nottinghamshire, in March and November and speeding at 37mph on a 30mph section of the A61, at Chesterfield, last June.

The court heard the 57-year-old peer, who did not attend the hearing, already had nine points on his licence at the time of the offences.

When the father-of-five did not respond to fixed penalty notices, the case was listed for trial until solicitors for the duke indicated he would plead guilty to all the offences.

Lisa Wilson, for the duke, said: “He does not wish to minimise the offences. He does not wish to put forward an argument of exceptional hardship.

“The court may consider that with the title he has and the property he resides in the defendant is of considerable means.”

Magistrate Julia Svennevig ordered the duke pay a £3,025 fine within 28 days, banned him from driving for 12 months and added 15 penalty points to his licence.