A motorist who put £30 of petrol in his car and then left the garage without paying has been fined.

The incident happened at the EVF garage in Bray Hill, Douglas, on September 13.

Lee James Willis, aged 31, of Cronk y Berry, Douglas, admitted a charge of fraud by false representation as well as driving on a separate occasion with no insurance.

Magistrates fined him £200 for each offence and also ordered him to pay £100 prosecution costs.

Prosecuting advocate Rebecca Cubbon told the court that Willis filled his car with £30 worth of fuel then told staff in the shop he had forgotten his wallet.

He gave his name as ’John McLean’ and said he lived in Springfield Avenue. Willis said he could return with money in 30 minutes.

A member of staff then recognised Willis, which prompted him to turn and leave.

The woman tried to contact Willis on Facebook but was unsuccessful and the matter was reported to the police. Officers looked for him at various locations without finding him but Willis eventually went to police headquarters and handed himself in.

He told police he had been waiting for a cheque to clear and was going to pay back the garage in two days.

Advocate Kate Alexander said Willis had needed to collect his children but did not have any fuel. She said the money had since been paid.

Meanwhile, the insurance offence occurred on June 15 when Willis was stopped by police in Gansey and found to have no insurance.

He claimed he had bought insurance the previous day. But when he later handed over an insurance certificate the policy started three days after he was stopped.

Magistrates endorsed Willis’ licence with eight points for the insurance offence bringing his total points to 16. He was banned from driving for six months.