A 65-year-old Douglas man who asked children for photos near the funfair has been fined £330.

David John Moorley admitted threatening behaviour and has also been ordered to pay £125 prosecution costs.

Prosecuting advocate Annie Bannister told the court that Moorley was at the Sunken Gardens, near the entrance to the Isle of Man TT funfair, on May 28, at 1.40pm.

He had been drinking lager and was said to have been interacting with groups of children.

Moorley asked a group of four girls for photos of them.

One was aged 11, while the other three were aged 12.

They declined and words were exchanged.

A woman intervened and Moorley was said to have clapped and made a derogative comment.

Police arrived and the defendant was described as slurring his words, smelling of alcohol, and having glazed eyes.

Moorley, of Quine’s Corner, was said to have been confrontational and said: ‘People annoy me.’

He was asked to move on, but said: ‘They would annoy me there too,’ and called one officer a ‘k*******’.

Police eventually arrested him and Moorley told them: ‘You will not have a job after this.’

When interviewed at police headquarters later, he claimed the children had interacted with him first and that the woman had been threatening him.

He said: ‘I only gave as good as I got.’

The four children said they felt scared and intimidated and gave statements about the incident.

One said that Moorley had said to her: ‘Can I get a picture, picture, picture?’

She said in her statement: ‘I didn’t know what he could have done or if he’d videoed me.’

Another said that he had asked to take their photo, and had kept asking after she refused.

The others said that Moorley had said to them: ‘I know your face,’ and ‘Can I take your picture?’

In court, Moorley initially entered a basis of plea claiming he hadn’t asked the children for photos, but this wasn’t accepted.

After consulting with his advocate, he then agreed to withdraw the basis of plea and accept the prosecution facts.

Moorley’s defence advocate said that he didn’t have a phone and had only had a radio with him, so he would not have been able to take photos and none had been found.

Moorley said that he did sometimes take beers and sandwiches to the sunken gardens.

He said that he accepted that he should have moved to avoid the situation.

Deputy High Bailiff Rachael Braidwood told the defendant: ‘I do note you didn’t have a phone or a camera so you wouldn't have been able to take photos, but the fact is you’ve made these comments to young girls and you are a man in his sixties.

‘It’s clear they felt uncomfortable. You ought not to have been engaging with them.’

Moorley agreed to pay the fine and prosecution costs at a rate of £15 per week, deducted from benefits.