Teleporter 'dream' turns into King's Lynn court nightmare

A man who fulfilled a lifelong dream when he jumped on a farm’s teleporter “for a play” ended up in court.

Ivor Thomas, 49, spotted the vehicle at Ashill, near Thetford, while returning from his regular trip to feed fish at a nearby pond.

Spotting the doors open and the keys in the ignition, the 49-year-old was tempted.

“He got in and started pulling levers and pushing buttons,” prosecutor Bethany Richards told Lynn Magistrates yesterday.

A witness noted that the teleporter’s hydraulics had been moved and saw Thomas walking away.

Thomas admitted he had used the teleporter and was arrested a short time later as he walked back home to Lewis Close, Ashill.

He told police that he had considered asking the farmer’s permission but assumed it wouldn’t be granted.

“He just wanted to play and it was a lifelong dream of his,” said Miss Richards.

In court he pleaded guilty to taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent.

Solicitor Andrew Cogan, mitigating, described it as a “most peculiar case”.

He said his client made almost daily trips to the fishpond.

“On this particular occasion he sees the teleporter. He sees the keys in it and thinks ‘I’ll have a play’. He doesn’t move it anywhere.

“In effect, he has a bit of a play on this teleporter because it’s something he’s always wanted to do. It was very much a spur of the moment thing.”

Thomas was given a six-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £50 costs and £22 victim surcharge.