Footballer James McCarthy has been cleared of speeding after a police officer failed to identify him in court.

The Scotland-born Everton and Ireland midfielder was on trial at Glasgow's Justice of the Peace Court for allegedly driving at 42mph in a 30mph zone.

Prosecutors claimed McCarthy carried out the offence on September 27, 2013, on the city's Broomielaw.

The second police witness in the trial, James Armstrong, was unable to identify McCarthy in court as the driver.

McCarthy, 26, who was represented by Gordon Jackson QC, was acquitted of the charge by justice of the peace David Meek.

The first witness in the trial, constable Douglas Howie, told how he was on duty on the day of the alleged incident, using the Unipar speed-detecting device, which had been checked to ensure it was in working order.

Fiscal depute Clara Smeaton asked if he made a report about any specific vehicles that day.

He replied: "Yes, it was a silver BMW X5. The speed when I took the reading from the device was 42. It was probably going faster prior to the reading."

Mr Howie said he showed his colleague, Mr Armstrong, and then spoke to McCarthy, who he identified as the driver.

The court heard McCarthy was cautioned and charged and made no reply. He was issued a fixed penalty notice.

The second witness, Mr Armstrong, gave evidence that he was working with Mr Howie on that day.

He said he remembered the car being a silver BMW X5 but couldn't remember the registration or the exact speed given how long ago it was.

When asked by Ms Smeaton if he could identify the driver, he said: "It would be on the presumption of his presence here.

"Again, it was four and a half years ago."

Ms Smeaton closed the Crown case and said: "The Crown are no longer seeking a conviction."

A former Hamilton Academical player, McCarthy was bought from Wigan for £13m in 2013 by Everton.

Originally from Castlemilk in Glasgow, he decided to play for Ireland instead of Scotland and made his debut with the national squad in 2010.

McCarthy has recently recovered from a knee injury that prevented him from standing trial earlier this year.