A 22-year-old man has been fined £750 for being drunk in charge of a vehicle.

Wael Mohammed Kassim had previously denied the offence but changed his plea to guilty on Thursday.

Magistrates also endorsed his licence with 10 penalty points.

Prosecuting advocate Chrissie Hunt told the court that police were called to The Fountains at Ballure promenade in Ramsey on November 15 at 11pm after a report of suspicious activity.

When officers arrived they saw a parked Renault Megane with Kassim nearby, urinating against the side of a building. He was said to be smelling of alcohol and failed a roadside breathalyser test.

After being taken to police headquarters, a blood sample was taken which later produced a reading of 129.

The legal limit for blood is 80.

The court heard that Kassim, who lives at North Shore Road in Ramsey, had no previous convictions.

Defence advocate Paul Glover asked for credit to be given for the change of plea and said that it had now been nine and a half months since the offence.

Mr Glover said that Kassim had been on bail during that time and there had been no further offences.

‘He is a very young man who has learnt an extremely harsh and valuable lesson from this,’ said the advocate.

Mr Glover asked magistrates to spare Kassim from a driving ban, saying that 10 points would make him aware it was his last chance.

Magistrates also ordered him to pay £300 prosecution costs, due to work done towards a pre-trial review after the initial not guilty plea.

He will pay the fine and costs at a rate of £100 per month.