A prolific conman caught fiddling the mileage on vans to make more money has avoided jail for the crime.

Paul Thomas was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, for his latest scam after pleading guilty to clocking two vehicles at Croydon Crown Court.

Thomas, who traded from a lot in Thornton Road, Croydon, was rumbled by Trading Standards officers after they visited the site in March last year.

He had been out of prison for just nine months when he was caught clocking the cards, having been sentenced to two years for running an industrial-scale credit card cloning racket from Croydon House business centre.

The council is also pursuing confiscation proceedings against Thomas under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Councillor Simon Hoar, cabinet member for community safety, said: “Although this was a suspended sentence I am glad that we have stopped an illegal operation that was defrauding local consumers.

“Croydon council’s trading standards team work hard to stamp out this sort of activity, and if anyone suspects that a business is operating fraudulently then they should always report it to us as soon as possible.”