A motorist who drove his van at 120mph on the A14 before being caught by police has been banned from the road for 56 days.

Samuel Heywood, of The Green, Bardwell, near Bury St Edmunds, was convicted of speeding when he appeared before West Suffolk Magistrates’ Court.

The 24-year-old had pleaded not guilty to the offence at a previous hearing and elected to stand trial.

Heywood’s Vauxhall Astra van was seen by a police officer as it travelled on a stretch of the A14 between Stowmarket and Bury St Edmunds.

The 2011-registered van was heading towards Bury St Edmunds at the time.

The officer saw the vehicle speeding between the slip road on to the dual carriageway at Woolpit and the Rougham slip road coming off the A14, a distance of around four miles.

Although the police vehicle did not have a camera to measure how fast Heywood was going, its speedometer showed Green was travelling at 120mph.

In order to ensure this was accurate the calibration of the speedometer was subsequently checked to ensure it was correct.

The incident occurred at around 11.30pm on June 6, last year.

In addition to Heywood’s driving ban, he was fined £200 and ordered to pay £20 to the victims’ fund.

Heywood was also told he must pay £620 towards the prosecution costs of the case.