A tractor driver was fined £65 (nearly €77) and handed penalty points after being spotted by police driving on a motorway in the North.

According to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) road policing officers noticed the tractor being driven on the M1 motorway near Lurgan last week.

The PSNI confirmed that the driver of the tractor was issued with three penalty points on his driving licence and a £65 fine.

Officers from the Road Policing Strategic Unit - Mahon Road - then escorted the tractor off the motorway network.

According to the PSNI this falls under Highway Code Rule 253 in Northern Ireland.

Under this rule agricultural vehicles must not be used on a motorway.

The PSNI stated : "Motorways are designed for traffic travelling at higher speeds and prohibited vehicles can create significant safety risks for themselves and other road users.

Tractor

While a tractor is not permitted to drive on a motorway in the UK (including Northern Ireland), this is not the case in the Republic of Ireland.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) allows tractors capable of reaching a minimum speed of 50km/h to drive on the motorway.

Additionally, a tractor may pull a trailer on the motorway in the Republic of Ireland if the trailer is capable by design of being drawn at a speed of 50km/h or higher.

Earlier this year officers from the Road Policing Strategic Unit - Mahon Road - also stopped a tractor on the M1 motorway near Lisburn.

The tractor had been travelling to Ballymena from Co. Cavan.

At the time the PSNI said: "The driver, who was only 16-years-old and only had a provisional entitlement in the Republic of Ireland, should not have been driving on any road in NI".