Anyone breaching emergency Covid regulations will be dealt with ’extremely seriously’, the High Bailiff has warned.

Jayne Hughes gave the warning in court as four men were jailed for breaches of the Emergency Powers Act.

John Lloyd, aged 52, of Christian Road, Douglas, pleaded guilty to being absent from his ordinary place of residence.

Prosecutor Rebecca Cubbon told the court Lloyd had been shopping for himself when a friend with poor mobility rang and asked him to pick up some supplies including beer.

The two then spent the afternoon drinking at the friend’s home in Christian Road.

Lloyd was then seen by a member of the public to fall in the street. This resulted in a head injury and the police and an ambulance were called.

After initially refusing treatment, Lloyd was taken to Noble’s Hospital where he refused to provide his details so the police were called again and he was arrested.

Defence advocate Ian Kermode said his client has struggled with alcohol problems and asked for credit to be given for Lloyd’s early guilty plea.

Mr Kermode noted that Lloyd had been buying food for a person who cannot leave their home and that his good deed had ’got out of hand’ when he started to drink.

He said Lloyd had co-operated with officers since his arrest and wanted to use the opportunity to engage with the Drug and Alcohol Team to ’bring a silver lining to this cloud’.

Mrs Hughes said anyone appearing in front of her for breaching the emergency powers will be treated ’extremely seriously’.

She said while Lloyd had ’started with good intentions’, this had ’gone out of the window’ and she criticised him for ’putting police and the ambulance service at risk’.

Lloyd was sentenced to four weeks in jail. He was also banned from purchasing alcohol for three months.

Richard Kewley, 59, of no fixed abode, also pleaded guilty to breaking the Emergency Powers Act.

He was seen walking near Braddan Bridge at 11.50pm on April 12 and refused to tell officers why.

Ms Cubbon said Kewley told police he had left the Sefton Hotel, where he had been staying, due to an issue he had with another guest and he refused their offer to take him back there.He also refused alternative suggestions for where he could stay.

Representing himself, Kewley said he was ’frightened’ to return there and had not been sleeping due to the issue he had with the other guest, which he said he had explained to hotel staff and the police. Kewley told the court he wasn’t offered alternative addresses by the police but he had hoped to stay with a friend, but refused to give their name or address in court, meaning Mrs Hughes could not agree to allow him to reside them or issue a sentence of a fine.

She gave credit to Kewley for his guilty plea and said he had caused ’no difficulty’ for officers while in custody.

However, Mrs Hughes added he had ’no good reason’ not to be at his residence and that ’it is important we all keep to the regulations imposed’.

She sentenced Kewley to four weeks’ custody.

Warning

Mrs Hughes advised him to find somewhere to live by the time he is released and ordered all previous court fines to be suspended until May 8 to allow him to resolve an issue with the benefits office.

Meanwhile, on April 3, 48-year-old Sean Andrew Clarke, of Castletown, was issued with a police warning for breaching the Covid-19 emergency powers regulations in respect of not adhering to social distancing requirements.

Then on April 8, Clarke was witnessed by a member of the public sitting on a wall at Castletown beach with a group of others, drinking alcohol and socialising.

He was arrested three days later for breaching the Emergency Powers Act and charged with being absent from his ordinary place of residence otherwise than in accordance with the emergency police powers. He was sentenced to four weeks in prison.

Liam David Skillicorn, of Douglas, was sentenced to six weeks in prison after being charged with two offences, one of failing to comply with a direction and one of being absent from his residence.

The 20-year-old had called 111 on April 3 and been told to self-isolate. However, when police attended his address on April 11, his mother informed officers he was not home.

It was discovered Skillicorn had left his address, travelled to his grandfather’s home in Willaston to collect his dog before driving to Port Grenaugh beach to exercise him for two to three hours.

He later returned the dog before being arrested.