A professional enduro motorcycle rider has been given a conditional discharge after riding a motorbike on prohibited land.

Jamie McCanney, of Murrays Lake Drive, in Santon, admitted an offence of driving a vehicle elsewhere than on a highway.

Prosecuting advocate Barry Swain told the court how the 25-year-old was seen by a countryside ranger on DEFA land at King’s Forest, in Greeba, on June 15 at 3pm.

He was in a group of eight or nine other riders.

The court heard that the other riders in the group did not stop but McCanney did and spoke to the ranger.

The land was said to be a DEFA-owned plantation which motor vehicles are not allowed on without permission.

McCanney told the ranger that they had entered the plantation at a kissing gate by lifting their bikes’ back wheels and wheeling them through.

He said they had been practising riding on a rock incline.

Mr Swain said that McCanney had been polite and accepted that he shouldn’t have been on the land.

McCanney represented himself in court. He handed in a written statement and character reference.

In the statement he said it had been an ’unintentional oversight’ and that he had been under the impression the route was okay to cross.

He said that he had apologised to the ranger and assumed that would be the end of it as they had only been on the land a matter of minutes.

McCanney was said to have competed for the Isle of Man and Great Britain in enduro bike riding.

He was said to be currently serving a six-month suspension from local events imposed by the ACU.

He appeared before magistrates last week and was ordered to pay £50 costs.