A lovesick Scots ‘romeo’ who crossed the Irish Sea on a jet ski to see his girlfriend has sold the machine for a £625 profit.
Dale McLaughlan, from Irvine, hit the headlines after travelling for four-and-a-half hours over choppy waters to visit his girlfriend Jessica Radcliffe on the Isle of Man.
The roofer, 28, who called himself a “crappy James Bond”, then walked 15 miles to reach his lover’s house in December - much to the surprise of his friends and family.
He was soon arrested by cops for breaching coronavirus regulations on the island and was jailed for four weeks.
Thankfully, he was released in time to spend Christmas with his young children and has now sold his unusual ‘love machine’ on Ebay.
The listing offered the Seadoo Spark jet ski for offers starting at £4,500 - £1,000 less than he had paid for it last month.
It was described as being “in great condition (with) some age related marks but otherwise runs perfect”.
The successful bidder forked out £6,150.
Dale hatched his ‘romantic’ plan after meeting Jessica while on the island for work back in September.
He previously told how he knew the minute he left that he had to get back to her and applied for a visitor permit on ‘compassionate grounds’.
When this was refused, Dale soon began thinking of another way to make it across the water to spend time with his beau.
He spotted the jet ski for sale in Carlisle online and quickly snapped it up on December 10.
He also bought a marine GPS for £100, a dry bag for £20 and a drysuit for £350 before setting off on the epic adventure having received a negative Covid test.
After arriving to meet a surprised Jessica, the duo went to the pub the following day which resulted in Dale being arrested and handed a four week prison term.
Having been released early from jail, Dale said: "I would do anything for Jessica, I think I've proved that to the whole world to be honest. I would do it all over again.
"(But maybe I'd use) a rubber dinghy next time."
