A Douglas man has been fined £500 and ordered to repay £1,568 in unemployment-related benefits he claimed while he was working.

Peter Crawford, of Hutchinson Square, had pleaded guilty to three counts of benefit fraud and had his case adjourned for the preparation of a probation report.

We previously reported how Crawford had stayed one step ahead of the courts for almost five years before justice finally caught up with him.

The 44-year-old was overpaid by £1,568 income support while working, undeclared, between July 2012 and September 2012, for a drainage and groundworks company.

The court heard his employment paid him more than £300 per week.

Prosecutor James Robinson said the matter was before the court in 2013 and a warrant was issued for the defendant but this had only recently been executed as Crawford had moved from his address and letters had been returned. Crawford was also to ordered to pay £125 prosecution costs.