Man Crossed Irish Sea on Jet Ski to See Girlfriend During Lockdown

A SCOTTISH man has been jailed for breaking lockdown rules when he traveled from Scotland to the Isle of Man on a jet ski.

The court heard that Dale McLaughlan, a 28-year old North Ayrshire native, had never used a jet ski before setting out on his journey from the Isle of Whithorn to the Isle of Man. Expecting the 26-mile journey across the Irish Sea to take 40 minutes, he spent four and a half hours crossing the choppy Irish Sea, putting himself “at very real risk” of harm.

Upon arriving at Ramsey, he walked 15 miles to his girlfriend’s home in the Isle of Man’s capital Douglas. He gave police his girlfriend’s address when he was stopped by officers, and the couple enjoyed a night out at two clubs. When police ran an ID check they discovered that McLaughlan was not a resident of the island, and he was arrested.

To curb the spread of Covid-19, non-residents of the Isle of Man can only be granted entry under exceptional circumstances. The court heard that McLaughlan had made a “deliberate and intentional attempt to circumvent border restrictions” according to the BBC, and said that his daring journey had been “carefully planned”. He was jailed for four weeks.

Thank you for taking the time to read this news article “Man Crossed Irish Sea on Jet Ski to See Girlfriend During Lockdown”. For more UK daily news, Spanish daily news and Global news stories, visit the Euro Weekly News home page.