Glen Vine man fined after driving on protected greenway

22-year-old's Land Rover exceeded the specified weight limit

A Glen Vine man has been fined £520 after driving his car on a greenway and exceeding its weight limit.

Joshua Paul Jones, of Ballagarvey Road, appeared at Douglas Courthouse where he pleaded guilty to driving on the route and driving with no vehicle licence in place.

The court heard the 22-year-old had purchased the Land Rover Discovery a few days prior, and 'in this enthusiasm went out on the green lane' on 8 March.

At around 2.20pm, he was spotted by a DEFA countryside ranger, who stopped him from leaving the area and highlighted the signage which displayed the weight limit warning.

Jones' advocate argued the signs were 'small and easy to miss', and emphasised that his client wouldn't have entered the area if he had seen them.

He admitted knowing the car's tax had expired but said he didn't yet have the log book to be able to rectify the issue.

In a separate incident, on 16 March, Jones was towing a trailer with a motorcycle in the back.

Witnesses saw it fall over within the trailer after straps securing the bike came loose.

During his appearance at Douglas Courthouse, Jones pleaded guilty to travelling with an insecure load on the trailer, posing a risk to the public.

His advocate insisted: "He thought it was secure, obviously it wasn't."

Fining Jones and ordering him to pay £100 in costs, Magistrates said they 'accepted the signs may be small' but that they were in place for a reason.

They told him: "Hopefully you've learned a lesson from this".

Manx Radio has contacted the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture for comment regarding signage on greenways.