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Man jailed for breaking coronavirus regulations

Driving offences also admitted

A Douglas man who accompanied a friend with coronavirus to a shop to buy beer and scratchcards has been jailed.

Thirty-two-year-old Christopher John Crellin of Princes Avenue appeared before magistrates at Douglas courthouse via a video link from the prison.

He pleaded guilty to contravening coronavirus regulations, as well driving with no licence or insurance.

Prosecution advocate Rebecca Cubbon said Crellin seriously injured himself and a passenger on 7 August last year when he crashed a stolen Peugeot 107 in Port Soderick.

He admitted driving after police matched his DNA to some found on the driver's airbag – but Crellin said he hadn’t known the vehicle was stolen.

A member of the public rang police on 15 April when they saw Crellin and another man take a taxi to a shop before going to a house on Cronk Y Berry Avenue.

The other man had posted on social media he'd been told to self-isolate after showing symptoms of Covid-19, and he later tested positive for the illness.

Police found Crellin hiding with a woman in a bedroom at the property, and the court heard he'd been subject to two suspended jail sentences at the time.

Magistrates activated part of those sentences, jailing him for 17 weeks and adding another fortnight, in lieu of outstanding fines.

He was also ordered to pay £2,000 in compensation and has been handed a six-month driving ban.

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