A teenager who fled police by scaling his garden fence has been fined for cannabis possession.

Ryan Charles Moffitt, aged 19, of Greeba Drive, Onchan, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and was fined £300 by High Bailiff Jaynes Hughes on Tuesday.

Officers executed a search warrant at Moffitt’s home at 5.50pm on May 21. When he saw officers, he ran through his back garden and scaled his fence.

Prosecutor Roger Cain said after a search of the property, officers found 2.7g of cannabis with a street value of £54.

Moffitt was arrested upon his return to his home and said he only ran away because of his anxiety. He accepted the cannabis was for his own personal use. Defence advocate Peter Taylor said his client has stopped using cannabis since his arrest, saying Moffitt has ’wised up’.

He said that since the outbreak of Covid-19, Moffitt had lost his job and had been depressed which led to his anxiety while he had been stuck at home during lockdown.

Mr Taylor said that cannabis had helped him through lockdown and that the island’s job market is ’difficult right now’, which has led to problems for many people.

High Bailiff Mrs Hughes said that ’despite running off, you admitted the cannabis was yours’ and gave him credit for his early guilty plea.

However, she added: ’Cannabis is a problem for you. You need to stop taking it.’

Mrs Hughes fined Moffitt £300 and ordered him to pay £125 costs.