A delivery driver who fraudulently obtained Covid tests during the pandemic then didn’t deliver them has been sentenced to 120 hours community service.

Laura Jessie Ann Corkill was working for Hermes but subcontracted to Manx Independent Carriers at the time.

The 37-year-old was paid £1 for every test which was delivered but submitted false names and addresses to obtain more tests.

Prosecuting advocate Roger Kane told magistrates that the government launched an online request system where lateral flow tests could be ordered for free.

Manx Independent Carriers was awarded the contract to deliver the tests island-wide, six days a week.

At 4pm each day, data was forwarded to MIC with names and addresses to which to deliver.

On August 27 last year, a government employee contacted the police after seeing Facebook posts which showed a number of lateral flow tests dumped in a skip.

Investigations led to three people being arrested, one of which was Corkill, who lives at Keppel Road in Douglas.

LFTs had been ordered online using fictitious names and addresses.

Delivery drivers were paid £1 for each box which was delivered.

A search of Corkill’s home found 1,370 LFTs under the stairs.

She was interviewed at police headquarters and answered ‘no comment’ to all questions and also refused to give the pin number to her phone.

Defence advocate Sara-Jayne Dodge entered a basis of plea for her client in which Corkill said she had made a large number of legitimate deliveries, but admitted she had also used false names and addresses.

The financial gain to her was said to be between £196 and £228.

Corkill was not the person who dumped tests in the skip.

Prosecutor Mr Kane said that it had initially been the prosecution case that the gain was in the region of £856, but he was prepared to accept the basis of plea as it was the actions rather than the amounts that really mattered.

He also said that there had been an additional cost to the government of £509 which the prosecutor asked for in compensation.

The court heard that Corkill has no previous convictions.

A probation report said that Corkill had been struggling financially for a number of years and in her own words, had thought she ‘wasn’t doing anything illegal’ as they were given out for free.

She said that she did it to ‘make a few more pounds’.

The report said that Corkill had lost her job as a result of the crime but had since found further employment.

She said that she had sought mental health support since her arrest.

The report concluded that Corkill would not be back in court again and recommended community service as the most appropriate punishment.

Defence advocate Ms Dodge urged the court to follow the recommendation, saying that it would serve as a punishment but also give back to the community.

Magistrates ordered Corkill to pay £125 prosecution costs but did not order any compensation.