A man who broke into the restaurant he lived above and stole a bottle of rum has been fined.

David McCallion, now of Hope Street, Castletown, climbed through a hatch and burgled the New Manila on Queen’s Promenade, Douglas, on March 7.

McCallion, aged 27, was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £130 compensation.

We previously reported that on March 7, McCallion returned to his flat above the New Manila at around midnight after a night out drinking. He forced his way through a bolted serving hatch which led into the restaurant then climbed over a table to get inside.

McCallion tried to force open the cash drawer with a table knife but failed and eventually gave up.

He then took a bottle of Captain Morgan rum and left through the hatch.

The burglary wasn’t discovered until 5.30pm the following day when the manager arrived at the premises.

The hatch was not locked but was undamaged, however the cash drawer had scratches and dents on it where McCallion had tried to force it open. The manager viewed CCTV footage and identified McCallion.

He told police he was trying to open the cash drawer to get a key card for his room.He said he took the rum but intended to pay for it the next day.

Advocate Paul Rodgers said: ’The key mitigation is that Mr McCallion was an alcoholic at the time. On the day in question he put himself at eight out of 10 when asked by police to rate how drunk he was. He was extremely intoxicated and did something entirely out of character.’

Mr Rodgers said McCallion had a good relationship with the restaurant owners and had regularly eaten there and had been trusted to take alcohol and pay for it later.

’He has been working with the Drug and Alcohol Team (DAT) since the incident,’ said the advocate. ’He hasn’t drunk at all since the incident which is an incredible turnaround.