A banned motorist caught red-handed driving a van by a police officer then tried to claim the vehicle had been stolen.

Adam Simon Jones made the ‘silly and stupid’ decision to try and cover his tracks with a tall tale regarding his van being taken during the period an officer watched him drive into his estate.

Jones, 53, previously admitted committing an act against public justice and driving while disqualified.

He appeared at the Court of General Gaol Delivery for sentencing this week.

Prosecutor Sara-Jayne Dodge told the court that a police officer went round to Jones’ home in Fairways Drive in Mount Murray, Santon on July 29 this year after reports Jones had been driving the van on and off.

The officer noticed the car was not in the driveway and stationed himself at the entrance to the housing estate. Around half an hour later he saw the van turn into the estate and recognised Jones as the driver from a copy of his driving licence.

The officer pursued the van but when he got to the address the van was empty and he saw Jones running away towards the Comis Hotel.

Later, the police received a call from Jones claiming his van had been stolen at around 3pm that day and claimed the vehicle was taxed and insured. He said it was parked in his drive but was unlocked and the keys were inside.

Jones was told to attend police headquarters and when he arrived, he was arrested.

The defendant had been banned from driving for two years for drink driving and he still had a month left before he was allowed to retake his test.

In mitigation, advocate Lawrie Gelling said her client accepted what he had done and ‘showed genuine remorse’.

She said: ‘My client pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and this is a man who accepts the consequences. What he did was an error of judgment.’

In calling for any prison sentence to be suspended, Miss Gelling added: ‘He has been employment for 30 years and shows he is a trusted individual. If he was jailed immediately, he would lose that employment which his family relies upon.’

Deemster Graeme Cook told Jones he was ‘fortunate’ as next year the maximum sentence for committing an act against public justice will rise from two years to five years which meant the sentence he might have been given could have been too high to be suspended.

He told Jones: ‘It was a very silly and stupid thing to do. It [claims the van had been stolen] was clearly untrue as a police officer had identified you. This is a serious offence as is driving while disqualified.’

But Deemster Cook decided to suspend any sentence. Jones was handed a six-month jail sentence for committing an act against public justice and four months consecutively for driving while disqualified. Both sentenced have been suspended for 18 months.

Jones was also banned from driving for a further 30 months and will have to retake an extended test. He was also ordered to pay £125 costs.