A LLANDYSUL man has been placed under a curfew order after admitting fraud.

Colin Harding, of Pontsian, Llandysul, was investigated by Ceredigion County Council’s Trading Standards after failing to supply a customer with promised goods.

The 58-year-old had been trading as a model railway layout builder and had previously been sentenced for similar fraud offences in June 2019.

Magistrates at Aberystwyth Justice centre heard how Harding had misled a customer after failing to supply a model railway baseboard layout valued at £249.99.

When interviewed by officers from Ceredigion County Council’s Trading Standards Service, Harding admitted he had committed fraud.

He had fabricated excuses for his failure to supply the goods, including the death of two relatives, trips abroad, and being let down by a courier.

When the deadline for delivery came and went, the victim contacted Trading Standards. Harding had then made promises to refund the payments made by the victim but these never materialised.

Harding was previously given a suspended sentence for his previous fraud and product safety offences.

His defence solicitor stated that Harding did not set out to defraud people and that his client had become overwhelmed by debt, ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul.’

Harding was given a 12-month curfew order with electronic monitoring from 7pm to 7am and ordered to pay £250 compensation within 14 days, a further £750 costs to Ceredigion County Council, and a victim surcharge of £90.

The chair of the bench told Harding that this was a terrible thing to do to the community, but that it was unjust to activate the suspended sentence in the circumstances.

Cllr Gareth Lloyd, cabinet member with responsibility for public protection, said: “Dishonest traders need to be aware that offending of this nature will not be tolerated.

“Ceredigion’s Public Protection acts not only to protect consumers from dishonest traders, but also to help maintain trust in the honest traders who are in the majority in Ceredigion’s business community.”