FORMER Pompey footballer Jermain Defoe was fined £800 today after admitting using a mobile phone behind the wheel.

But the Tottenham Hotspur and England striker, who already has a series of convictions for motoring offences, avoided a ban after he was given just three points on his licence.

The 28-year-old, who was not present at the hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court, now has a total of 11 points on his licence for driving offences committed between 2008 and 2010, said a Crown Prosecution Service spokeswoman.

Twelve points usually lead to a driving ban.

Defoe used the phone while driving a black Range Rover in Loughton, Essex, in October 2009. He was pulled over by police.

Defoe, of Cuffley, Hertfordshire, entered a written guilty plea at a hearing in August.

District Crown Prosecutor Frank O'Toole said: ''We take motoring offences very seriously and driving while using a mobile phone means the driver poses a significant danger to other road users as he is not giving his full attention to his driving or the road.''

As well as the fine and points, the footballer was ordered to pay £930 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Defoe was banned from driving for six months in 2009 after being convicted of speeding.

He twice broke a 50mph speed limit on the M11 northbound in Chigwell, Essex, in 2008.

The soccer star's appeal against the ban was dismissed by a judge at Chelmsford Crown Court in November 2009.

Defoe was again found guilty of speeding in January 2010 when magistrates in Portsmouth fined him £400 and added four points to his licence.

The court was told that Defoe was caught driving at 45mph in a 30mph zone in Portsmouth in May 2008.