A CONMAN set up three companies within a matter of months and raked in thousands of pounds of goods and services credit - with no plans to pay it back.

Paul Fyfe sold much of his haul and used other material to "spruce up" his home as he tried to trick his girlfriend into believing he was wealthy.

The 33-year-old used his experience working as a loss detector for a retail chain and in the computer industry to leave a £40,000-plus trail of debt.

A host of well-known companies were duped into believing Fyfe's businesses were legitimate and allowed him credit, Teesside Crown Court was told.

He hired cars without paying for them, and had delivered to his home things such as computers, electricals, kitchens, bathrooms and building material.

When he was questioned last summer, he admitted using combinations of his own name and that of his partner as directors of his three bogus companies.

He said his girlfriend knew nothing about it and had forged her signature, and told police: "I know it looks like blatant fraudulent trading."

Fyfe, of Linmoor Avenue, Middlesbrough, added: "A lot was hidden from her. I've mugged her off. She knew very little if anything of what was taking place."

Not one penny of Fyfe's victims' losses have been repaid, prosecutor Richard Bennett told the court.

Duncan McReddie, mitigating, told Judge Peter Armstrong: "Mr Fyfe accepts that there was never any intention or ability to pay off these accounts.

"He lost his loss detector job - it has to be said, under something of a cloud, but nothing was proved against him - and took on a variety of roles.

"He found great difficulty in maintaining the family's standards of living. He accepts that the goods he acquired were sold for personal gain.

"He kept that from his partner in a vain attempt to chase his tail, and repeated the conduct to make it seem like the family's finances were sound."

Fyfe admitted three charges of fraudulent trading, and was given an 18-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with 200 hours' unpaid work.

Judge Armstrong also banned him from being a company director for four years, and told him: "You have shown that you are not fit to hold such a position."