A 46-year-old man has admitted driving twice while he was disqualified.

Stephen Rafferty also admitted speeding at 51 miles per hour in a 30 zone.

He will be sentenced on April 25 after a probation report has been prepared.

Prosecuting advocate Barry Swain told the court that police were performing speed checks at Governor’s Hill in Douglas on November 6 when they clocked Rafferty driving a BMW 5 Series car at 51mph in the 30mph zone.

However, police systems were down for maintenance so they could perform only limited document checks.

Rafferty, who lives at Central Promenade in Douglas, told officers that he had a full licence but had misplaced it, so he was given five days to produce it.

On November 12, he went to police headquarters and claimed that he had lost the document and asked if he could have an extension.

However, further enquiries then showed he only held a valid Manx provisional licence and had not retaken his test after a four-year driving ban in Wirral in 2014.

On December 17, police stopped Rafferty again while he was driving the BMW, this time at Hillberry Corner.

This time the vehicle was seized.

Mr Swain submitted that the case was suitable for summary court sentencing.

Defence advocate Peter Taylor asked for a probation report to be prepared before sentencing and agreed that the case should remain in the lower court.

High Bailiff Jayne Hughes accepted summary court jurisdiction and ordered that the probation report consider all sentencing options, including custody.

Bail was granted in the sum of £500 with conditions to live at his home address, to contact probation and co-operate in the preparation of the report, and not to leave the island without court consent.