Lover mann can't swim Romeo roofer who crossed Irish Sea on jet ski to miss Christmas at home with his kids

This is the stunning girlfriend of the Romeo jet skier who risked his life after he crossed the Irish Sea on a jet ski to see her.

Dale McLaughlan (28) was arrested after making the dangerous four-and-a-half hour journey to the Isle of Mann from Scotland.

The Romeo roofer, who can’t even swim, is also now in trouble with his mum as he will miss Christmas with his two children in Irvine, North Ayrshire while he spends the festive season in a Douglas jail for the next four weeks.

Another family member fondly referred to Dale as “a nice lad, but thick as a brick” after it emerged McLaughlan thought the journey would take 40 minutes.

It was nearly five hours later when he arrived drenched and cold after he was delayed due to bad weather in the notoriously rough stretch of water.

Despite his ordeal he then walked 15 miles to his girlfriend Jessica Radcliffe's home on Friday.

He was arrested after being stopped on Saturday night during a night of drinking in Douglas and when police arrived at Miss Radcliffe's house on Sunday it became clear he actually lived in Scotland and had breached local Covid-19 laws. He was jailed on Monday.

McLaughlan first met his partner on a night out in September after he was granted permission to legally spend four weeks working on the island as a roofer.

McLaughlan tried to go back to the island to see his new girlfriend after returning to the mainland, but was denied permission by the authorities.

So he took matters into how own hands and bought a jet ski before setting off across the Irish Sea.

Local resident Noel Corlett (74) who captured the moment Dale arrived on his camera, said he assumed it was a local riding in on a jet ski.

“I took a few frames just for fun and didn't think any more about it until I saw the court case in the news,” he said.

McLaughlan admitted arriving unlawfully and breaching Covid-19 laws that state non-residents can only enter if they are given special permission.

Meanwhile, the girl he made all the effort for, Jessica Radcliffe, who has two school-age daughters, will now have to spend Christmas in quarantine.

Her mother, Jane, said she was in isolation at home and can’t go out or have visitors.

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Online Editors