A man has been jailed for four weeks for travelling from Scotland to the Isle of Man on a jet ski to see his girlfriend.
Dale McLaughlan, from North Ayrshire in Scotland, broke coronavirus restrictions by making the four-and-a-half hour journey from his home in the Isle of Whithorn, to Ramsey on the Isle of Man.
The 28-year-old, who had never ridden on a jet ski before he made the maiden voyage, admitted in Douglas Courthouse that he had arrived on the island unlawfully.
Under current lockdown restrictions, anyone who doesn’t live on the Isle of Man must obtain a special permit before they are allowed to visit the island, however McLaughlan arrived on Friday, December 11, without one.
After returning to Scotland, he made several more attempts to legally return to the island to see his girlfriend, however they were all rejected, prompting the tradesman to make the unlawful journey across the Irish Sea.
After arriving at Ramsay at around 1pm, McLaughlan then walked 15 miles to his girlfriend’s home in Douglas. The next day, police arrived at the address and the 28-year-old claimed that he also lived in the home.
The very same day, both McLaughlan and his girlfriend, who had only been living on the island for a short time, went to two packed nightclubs, breaking further COVID-19 restrictions.
McLaughlan told the court he had been suffering from depression, which is what led to him ‘carefully planning’ his unlawful journey to see his girlfriend
