A Norfolk man fulfilled a lifelong dream when he jumped on a farm’s teleporter “for a play” - but the exploit landed him in court.

Ivor Thomas spotted the vehicle at Ashill, near Watton, while returning from his regular trip to feed fish at a nearby pond.

Spotting the doors open and the keys in the ignition, the 49-year-old could not resist temptation.

“He got in and started pulling levers and pushing buttons,” prosecutor Bethany Richards told King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (April 22).

“He just wanted to play and it was a lifelong dream of his,” said Miss Richards.

But a witness later noted that the teleporter’s hydraulics had been moved and saw Thomas walking away.

He admitted using the teleporter and was arrested by police a short time later as he walked back home to Lewis Close, also in Ashill.

Miss Richards added that Thomas later told officers he had considered asking the farmer's permission, but assumed it would not be granted.

In court he pleaded guilty to taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent.

Solicitor Andrew Cogan, mitigating, described it as a “most peculiar case”, adding that his client made almost daily trips to the village's fishpond.

“On this particular occasion he sees the teleporter," said Mr Cogan. "He sees the keys in it and thinks ‘I’ll have a play’. He doesn’t move it anywhere.

“In effect, he has a bit of a play on this teleporter because it’s something he’s always wanted to do. It was very much a spur of the moment thing.”

Thomas was given a six-month conditional discharge, and ordered to pay £50 in costs and a £22 victim surcharge.