A TEENAGER caught flouting lockdown rules after going out to give his 'vulnerable' mother money has been fined.

Prosecutors said that because Lewis Brown was found by police at an Oxford address that was not his own he was in breach of new coronavirus regulations.

The 18-year-old of Sherwood Place, Oxford, appeared at Oxford Magistrates' Court yesterday.

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At the hearing he pleaded guilty to one count of 'failing to comply with a direction imposed under the Coronavirus Act.'

Outlining the case prosecutor Ben May said that police had initially been investigating a separate matter on Friday.

During those enquiries officers saw Brown going down a driveway of an address on Oxford Road that had no connection to him.

Prosecutors said that because the address was different to his own Brown was in breach of the lockdown rules put in place cross the country in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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In mitigation at the hearing David Pallett, defending, said that his client deserved credit for entering his plea of guilty to the offence.

He said that Brown was staying with a friend at the address in which he was found by officers.

Explaining the build-up to the crime Mr Pallett said that his client had left the premises that day to visit his mother.

After giving her money and leaving he said police began to follow Brown before his eventual arrest elsewhere.

Brown's mother was described as 'vulnerable' and in need of money at the time the offence was committed.

The court also heard that Brown - a former landscape gardener - had already spent three nights in custody since his arrest on Friday.

Sentencing, District Judge Kamlesh Rana said she would afford Brown credit for his guilty plea.

She added that despite his time spent in custody she would not consider the matter 'served' and a fine would be ordered.

Brown was fined £100 and he must pay a victim surcharge of £35 and court costs.

Under the rules imposed under the lockdown people have been told to only leave the house for limited reasons. These can include shopping for basic necessities, one form of exercise a day, any medical need or travelling for work purposes if home-working is not possible.