A 30-year-old angler caught fishing on Lough Erne without a licence has appeared at Fermanagh Court.

Stephen Glenn, of Cloughcor Crescent, Lisbellaw, was given a conditional discharge for two years but ordered to pay legal fees of £119.

He pleaded guilty to four charges of fishing with a rod without a licence.

The court heard that a total of six rods were seized when fishery protection officers spoke to Glenn and another angler fishing at Tamlaght Bay on Upper Lough Erne on February 4. The men said they didn’t think they needed licences.

Defence solicitor Myles McManus said Glenn recently moved to this area from Belfast and was simply unaware of the regulations. He now has a valid coarse fishing licence.

Deputy District Judge Laura Ievers told Glenn she was going to take an exceptional course in relation to the case because he now realised the seriousness of the offences and has regularised the situation. She said that in view of the legal and court costs she was giving him a conditional discharge for two years.