A man who conned a string of island hotels and bars out of free rooms will now be getting a free 26-week stay at the Jurby Hilton - a name commonly used by residents to describe Isle of Man Prison.

Thomas Nigel Luke Samsworth, from Farmoor in Oxford, was jailed after he left without paying bills at the Welbeck Hotel, Empress Hotel, Mannin Hotel and New Manila Hotel, all in Douglas, as well as the Sulby Glen, the Falcon’s Nest in Port Erin, the Mitre in Ramsey, the Shore Hotel in Laxey and the Sefton Express Hotel in Ballasalla.

He pleaded guilty in a magistrates’ court to eight counts of obtaining goods without payment and five of obtaining services by deception.

The total loss to island businesses as a result of 32-year-old Samsworth’s deceptions was said to be £1,089.77.

He was also made subject of a five-year exclusion order banning him from the island after his release from prison.

We previously reported how Samsworth had arrived on the Ben-my-Chree from Heysham on March 15 at around 6.30am.

He checked into the Welbeck Hotel on Mona Drive after telling staff he was locked out of his flat.

He left the following morning without paying a bill for £83.30.

On March 17 Samsworth went to the Empress Hotel and ran up a bar bill of £119.55, again leaving without paying.

That same day, he booked into the Mannin Hotel on Broadway.

During the evening in the hotel bar he was seen buying drinks for customers and staff.

Samsworth told the hotel manager that his brother would be arriving the next day and he would settle the bill.

But the room was found empty in the morning with a bill of £521.80 unpaid.

Samsworth continued his free tour of the island, running up further bills of £257.83 at the Sulby Glen Hotel, £65 at the Manila Hotel, £6.50 at the Mitre Hotel, £32.60 at the Shore Hotel, £86.20 at the Falcon’s Nest, and £10.25 at the Sefton Express, before being arrested when he was recognised by police as he walked along Douglas Road in Castletown.

Defence advocate David Reynolds said: ’He does have similar offences. Each time he’s finished a sentence and had difficulty finding employment. The same applied here, he had just finished a seven-day sentence for failing to comply with probation and decided to come to the island. He hoped he could find employment but wasn’t able to.

’The probation report doesn’t paint a pretty picture, it’s one of the worst I’ve seen in a very long time.’

The court heard that Samsworth is also due to serve a further 28 days in jail upon his return to England in relation to a breach of conditions of a previous sentence.