A gas engineer has been fined £1,500 for being in charge of his work vehicle while under the influence of benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.

Gregory William Weston Crebbin has also been banned from driving for six months under the totting up process.

Prosecuting advocate Harry Bellis told magistrates that police were called by a member of the public on December 2, expressing concerns about a male in an Isle of Man Energy van, parked on Arbory Road in Castletown.

Police went to the scene and found Crebbin, who told officers he’d been asleep in the vehicle.

The 27-year-old was described as having small pupils, and ‘up and down’ in his actions.

A drug wipe test proved positive for cocaine, which resulted in him being arrested.

Blood was taken at police headquarters, which later produced a reading of 240 for benzoylecgonine, above the legal limit of 50.

The court heard that Crebbin, of Erin Way, Port Erin, already had three points on his licence from a Fixed Penalty Notice in 2023.

Defence advocate Ian Kermode said his client hadn’t been charged with driving the vehicle, only being in charge of it, but admitted that he had taken cocaine prior to police arriving.

Mr Kermode said his client had co-operated at the scene, provided a blood sample, and pleaded guilty immediately.

The advocate said that Crebbin had been a gas engineer for nine years, but had lost his job as a result of the incident.

The minimum number of points for the latest offence is 10, which took Crebbin over the 12-point limit for a disqualification.

The ban does not apply in the UK, as there is no reciprocal agreement relating to bans under the totting up process.

Crebbin will pay the fine, plus £125 prosecution costs, at a rate of £100 per month.