Jail for land speed record theft couple

Pair sentenced to 20 months each

A couple from Laxey who're guilty of stealing £18,000 from a fund have been sentenced to 20 months each in prison.

Forty-six-year-old David Paul Hodgson and 53-year-old Ann Maria McGrath, both of Pinfold Hill, had denied theft, but were found guilty by a jury in November.

They took the money from the Lonan Gentlemen's Fellowship Sponsors' Club, which had been raised to aid its land speed record attempts at Bonneville in the USA.

The thefts occurred between 2013 and 2015.

Sentencing the couple this morning, Deemster Main-Thompson told them they had siphoned off money which had been raised for a noble cause and had treated it as their own.

He added they had unilaterally decided, on a spurious basis, that the fellowship's constitution did not apply to them.

He told them neither had shown remorse for their actions, just self pity, and had been brazen and arrogant in their conduct.

The court heard the pair were of previous good character, and would get credit for paying the money back.

But Deemster Main-Thomspon decided that was not enough to spare them from prison.

He said the offences were a serious breach of trust, and upright, hardworking people had had their reputations besmirched as a result of the rumours which spread once the disappearance of the money came to light, adding the couple had done nothing to dispel these.