A 38-year-old man has been jailed for five months after pleading guilty to dangerous driving on the M2 in County Antrim when his vehicle was recorded at 120mph.

Jason Michael Howell, with an address at Church Lane in Toome, appeared at Antrim Magistrates Court sitting in Ballymena on Tuesday. He admitted dangerous driving and excess speed, and was also fined £200 and disqualified from driving for two years.

The court heard that the incident happened at 11.30pm on Saturday 7 February on the southbound carriageway near Rathbeg. Police detected Howell's Vauxhall Meriva at 120mph in lane two. A passenger was in the car at the time.

A prosecutor said Howell cut across the path of a vehicle in lane one to make a late exit onto a slip road, narrowly missing a grass verge. He was stopped by police shortly after.

In a separate matter, Howell pleaded guilty to possessing a knuckleduster as an offensive weapon in a public place on 11 May this year. The weapon was held without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, the court was told.

Howell was released on £500 bail pending an appeal. His bail conditions include a curfew from 9pm to 7am monitored by an electronic tag, and he is not permitted to drive.