A cyclist who rode on the Mountain Road during the Isle of Man TT one-way system, has been fined £1,000.

French visitor Christian Fernet was arrested on Wednesday morning and appeared before magistrates on Thursday.

He pleaded guilty to failing to conform to a traffic sign.

The route, which becomes strictly one-way from Ramsey to Douglas during the festival period, also prohibits cycling altogether for safety reasons.

Magistrates issued the defendant with three penalty points, though they cannot be applied to a French licence.

Prosecuting advocate Barry Swain told the court that Fernet was riding a Giant E-bike at 6.45am on June 4, at Creg Ny Baa.

He cycled through cones, as well as past ‘no entry’ signs and barriers, and proceeded to ride against the one way system.

Civilians tried to stop him by shouting and waving at him, but Fernet either didn’t hear them or ignored them.

He was eventually stopped by police around 100 metres before Windy Corner.

After being taken to police headquarters, he was interviewed and said he had been out riding his bicycle and had wanted to see the mountain area.

He said he had not considered how dangerous his actions were and was said to have been very apologetic.

Fernet, whose address was given as France, claimed he didn’t see any signs to prevent him from cycling on the road, but said that he had had his head down and wasn’t paying full attention.

He was shown footage of the incident and it was said that the French ‘no entry’ signs were similar to the ones in the Isle of Man and UK.

Defence advocate Paul Rodgers said that Fernet’s wife was in court with him and had been stunned by what he had done.

‘I use the words “Sacré bleu”, as it’s applicable to how she felt,’ said Mr Rodgers.

The advocate said that Mrs Fernet had had stern words for her husband, reminiscent of recent footage of the French president Emmanuel Macron, when he appeared to be being told off by his wife.

‘He didn’t appreciate just how dangerous this was,’ said Mr Rodgers. ‘Of course, that’s naïve.’

‘He is a very likeable, charming, French man who barely speaks a word of English.

‘He didn’t understand relevant signage and didn’t see any signage that had a bicycle on.

‘He has now spent a lot of time in police custody and that has brought home to him what has happened.

‘This is something that was an aberration of judgement.’

The advocate went on to say that Fernet was a TT fan, who was visiting with a large group.

Exclusion orders, banning defendants from the island, cannot be imposed for fineable only offences, which this is, so it was not possible to impose such an order.

Magistrates ordered Fernet to pay the fine and costs forthwith, or he could face up to 60 days in prison.