£3,000 fine given for 'irresponsible ignorance' in breaking isolation rules
'IRRESPONSIBLE ignorance' led to a man being fined £3,000 for breaching the self-isolation laws after he disparaged them on arriving back in the island.
Mikey Wayne Ashworth, 26, of Flat 5, Austrel House, 4, Union Street, St Peter Port, admitted the offence when he appeared in the Magistrate's Court.
He had arrived back in Guernsey from Southampton at 3.30pm on 10 August, prosecuting Advocate Jenny McVeigh said.
After signing the relevant isolation papers he was told of the requirements by a member of Aurigny staff at the airport, and replied 'yeah, yeah,' in a sarcastic tone, and went on to talk about 'that isolation BS'.
At about 11pm that day, police who had been called to a disturbance at the Fermain Tavern stopped Ashworth walking along Fort Road towards Town.
He told them he was going home, and he was not able to help them regarding the matter at the pub. He was allowed to go.
The officers were unaware of his needing to be isolated, but on 13 August Customs officers carried out a welfare check at his home and challenged him about his being seen on the night of the 10th.
He said he had been home all evening, but he was later shown body-worn camera footage taken by one of the officers and confirmed it was him, but he could not remember the incident.
He told police he had smoked cannabis and drunk alcohol before leaving Southampton and he could not remember making derogatory comments to the Aurigny staff member.
For Ashworth, Advocate David Domaille said his client had no recollection of the day in question and accepted the prosecution facts.
He apologised to the court for this very grave error in his judgement.
Judge Gary Perry gave Ashworth credit for his guilty plea, although it seemed to him that the defendant had prevaricated at the airport.
'Your response at the airport says it all,' said the judge. 'Your ignorance was irresponsible.
'Lives are at risk but people like you don't see it that way. It's all about "I'm coming back from England, why should I isolate?". You need a reality check.'
He imposed a £3,000 fine, payable in instalments deducted from Ashworth's benefits and the judge noted that this was 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'.
He made it clear that if and when Ashworth found work he would need to step up the payments.
Ashworth is facing a trial for an alleged assault on a woman, which will take place on 20 November. He has also admitted causing criminal damage to the front door of a property, for which he will be sentenced after the trial.
