Cautions were issued to two drink drivers, two speeding motorists and a man caught with indecent photographs of children.

Details emerged following a Freedom of Information request to the Manx police.

It reveals that court-ordered cautions were issued for two cases of drink-driving in 2014.

In one case, the level of alcohol was 145mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath, more than four times the legal limit of 35. The other offence which received a caution was for 61mg per 100ml.

It is understood that the caution was issued by the court on a technicality to the drink driver who was four times over the limit.

The man cautioned for indecent photographs of children in 2016 had four images that were at the lowest end of the Copine scale.

Level one of the Copine scale would cover non-erotic and non-sexualised pictures showing children in their underwear or swimming costumes from either commercial sources or family albums. The context or organisation of pictures by the collector indicates inappropriateness.

Cautions were also issued by police for two speeding drivers in 2016.

Both cases took place early in the morning of June 5 last year on Main Road, Colby, and involved offenders from across in UK-registered vehicles.

At 5.45am, one was caught driving at 64mph in a 30mph limit and at 6.35am a driver was caught speeding at 70mph in a 30mph zone.

The cautions were issued as the officers were untrained in the use of the Pro-Laser speed device being used to ratify the estimated speed the officers would testify to, the constabulary explained in the Freedom of Information response.

Inspector Mark Britton, in a separate FoI response, outlined the force policy on issuing cautions.

He explained that a police caution is a long established non-statutory disposal for offenders who have committed and admitted low level offences.

Only in exceptional circumstances should it be used to deal with more serious offences.

He said cautioning is used to deal with less serious offences quickly and simply, to divert offenders, where appropriate, from the courts and to reduce the likelihood of an offender reoffending.

Inspector Britton said: ’It is recognised that the decision whether to charge an offender with an offence or to use alternative disposals, including cautions, will usually have an element of subjectivity.’

He said a caution will not be appropriate where there is no clear admission of the offence, where the offender is a serving prisoner, on court bail or subject to a court order.