Stevenage conman jailed

A CONMAN who took money from elderly and vulnerable people for mobility scooters he never delivered has been jailed for nine months after admitting fraudulent trading. Christopher Edmondson, 41, ran Phoenix Mobility on Babbage Road in Stevenage. The bent

A CONMAN who took money from elderly and vulnerable people for mobility scooters he never delivered has been jailed for nine months after admitting fraudulent trading.

Christopher Edmondson, 41, ran Phoenix Mobility on Babbage Road in Stevenage. The bent accountant took deposits, and occasionally full payment, from customers for items including mobility scooters and bath lifts and then disappeared.

Luton Crown Court heard how he fled to Spain owing nearly �70,000 to 148 customers, who never received their goods. When Edmondson returned to the UK he was arrested.

Prosecutor Alan Landsbury said the equipment was "desperately needed" and "often very expensive". He said money was taken from vulnerable customers when there was no intention of delivering the items.

Edmondson demanded staff rip up complaint letters and tell furious callers he was not in.

Brian Lett, defending, said Edmondson was sorry for his actions. He said he had ploughed �129,323 of his own money into the company, and had lost his two houses and now suffers from severe depression.

The company's debts came to �515,000, including the unpaid wages of 29 staff, and Edmondson has been banned from being a company director for five years.

A hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act is due to be heard in February.