Scap Metal Man Was Unlucky On Day Of Police Crackdown

SCRAP metal seller Arthur McDonagh was unlucky when he went to sell iron to a dealer and got caught in a police crackdown. When he was asked by the weighbridge operator at the Snailwell dealership to identify himself, he gave the name of the man for who

SCRAP metal seller Arthur McDonagh was "unlucky" when he went to sell iron to a dealer and got caught in a police crackdown.

When he was asked by the weighbridge operator at the Snailwell dealership to identify himself, he gave the name of the man for whom he was making the sale instead of his own.

And on Thursday, McDonagh appeared before magistrates accused of giving a false name to the dealer, EMR Ltd on April 22.

McDonagh, 20, admitted the offence but said, although he had used Mick Carter's name he had given his own address and would not have done so if he had thought he had done anything wrong.

"He was a little unlucky that the police were under a lot of pressure over stolen scrap metal and the sale of it and they had set up an action day," said Emma Dimitriev, prosecuting. "They were sniffing around the yards and clamping down."

McDonagh, who has a previous conviction for theft, said: "The truck I was driving was Michael Carter's and the scrap was his but I didn't know his address."

He said he gave Carter's name when asked which name the scrap metal was being sold under.

"I don't understand any of this," said McDonagh, of Discovery Way, Cambridge.

Chairman of Ely magistrates, Dr Christine Shaw, told McDonagh: "We appreciate you made a mistake."

McDonagh was fined £50 with £60 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.