AN Ellesmere Port man defrauded a car dealership by transferring cash from sales of two cars to his own bank account.

Colin Morris, 29, of Woodbank Road, Whitby, pleaded guilty to defrauding the M53 Ford dealership out of more than £11,000 between February and March 2020.

Honorary Recorder of Chester Judge Steven Everett, sentencing Morris at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday, March 3, said it was a "mean and spiteful" offence, but spared him immediate custody in view of Morris's mitigation, some of which had been caused from "horrors" serving in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Prosecuting, Jade Tufail said Morris had joined the company in November 2019 as a sales executive, and there had been no issues until Barclays Bank got in touch with the dealership on March 6, 2020.

An account teller said Morris was at the branch with two customers, who were trying to make a payment for a car, and the bank had noticed the account details were different than usual.

Morris had returned to the dealership, looking "a bit flustered", and said he had accidentally given the bank his personal sort code instead of the dealership's.

But upon further investigation it was discovered payments for two cars, collectively worth £11,287, had not been made to M53 Ford but to Morris's own bank account.

Morris explained he owed money to a gangster and was being threatened, and said he would pay the money back.

But after no money came the dealership's way, Morris was suspended and the matter was reported to the police.

In police interview, Morris said he had a bad debt and wanted to pay the money back.

It was noted there had been one occasion when Morris had arrived late at the dealership with a cut to his stomach, and he had explained he had been threatened and stabbed with a knife.

In a victim impact statement, the boss of the dealership said the offending happened at a difficult time for the company, right before the coronavirus lockdown, and had damaged the company's reputation, and had caused trust issues.

The customers who had paid the money were worried about what would happen, but the dealership confirmed they could keep the cars and the dealership would take the financial loss at that time, but would ultimately seek compensation.

Judge Everett said they would likely do so through the county court.

Morris had six previous convictions for nine offences, with nothing similar on his record.

Defending, Gareth Roberts said Morris was "ashamed and embarrassed by his acts of dishonesty", and had the dealership down, his family, and also his father, who had helped him obtain the job.

In a way, Morris was glad he had been caught as it allowed him to start the process of rehabilitation, having been self-medicating with drink and cocaine.

Mr Roberts explained Morris had had a difficult childhood, but did ok at school and joined the Army, where his record was "exemplary" and he rose through the ranks to Lance Corporal.

He was a "well liked, good soldier" and went to serve in Afghanistan.

Sadly, that included the "horrors they experienced in Helmand Province 10 years ago", which included two close friends losing limbs in an explosion and a further incident which led Morris to be diagnosed with PTSD; a diagnosis which did not come until some time after Morris had left the Army.

After Morris was discharged from the Army, Mr Roberts explained, "his life started to unravel", and he was on drink and drugs, and got into a drug debt.

Since the offending, Morris had completely stopped drink and drugs, had formed a new relationship and was seeking help for his mental health issues.

Mr Roberts added there was a good prospect of rehabilitation and was deserving of a chance.

Judge Everett said: "I am quite prepared to accept the horrors of what you saw in Helmand Province would have caused you real problems.

"But I tell you frankly, the self-medication, using cocaine, I have no sympathy for you whatsoever. You decided to medicate by buying this evil drug and you got yourself into debt. You were also poisoning your body.

"There were threats made to pay off the drug debt and that is the principal motive behind what you did.

"It was not terribly sophisticated – there was always going to be a reckoning. The company would have found they had sold two cars and did not get any money for them. I am unimpressed you were given a chance to repay the money and you didn't."

Morris was handed a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and must complete up to 35 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement. He must also complete 150 hours unpaid work.

Wiping away tears, Morris said: "Thank you" to the judge as he left the dock.