Ipswich Town star Carlos Edwards was today handed a suspended prison sentence and given a hefty fine after magistrates opted against sending him to prison for driving while disqualified.

The 32-year-old Ipswich Town player had been warned he could face a custodial sentence when he appeared in court on Monday to plead guilty to two motoring charges.

However, he has been punished with a 12-week jail term suspended for a year, ordered to complete 200 hours' community service and fined �2,500. He must also pay �85 in court costs and a �15 victim surcharge.

Magistrates also extended his one-year driving ban by 18 months.

On Saturday, Edwards's wife gave birth to twins, weighing just 2lb each, at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridgeshire following complications during the pregnancy.

The tots are in an incubator and are being cared for by specialists at the hospital.

On Monday, magistrates were told Edwards, of Century Drive, Kesgrave, had endured a stressful time recently with his wife admitted to hospital several days prior to the twins' birth.

The former Sunderland, Luton and Wrexham player has been commuting to and from Addenbrooke's by train after his arrest on September 26.

The Ipswich Town midfielder's arrest and subsequent charge for driving while disqualified and without insurance came less than three months after he admitted a host of driving offences which earned him 22 points on his licence.

He was given an automatic year-long ban from the roads and �7,000 in fines.

The Trinidadian footballer, formerly of Coprolite Street, appeared before magistrates in June this year to admit two counts each of driving without a valid licence, with no insurance and without having an up-to-date MOT, and one count of failing to give information about the identity of a driver.

He had been caught driving a Mercedes M L320 CDI on the A14 near Bury St Edmunds on January 22, and was then spotted by police just six days later committing the same offences while driving a grey Range Rover along Duke Street on January 28.