A JUDGE has slammed a ‘miserable fantasist’ who pretended to run an international company to dupe a Warrington business.

Judge Roger Dutton told Miles Prestland-Windsor: “You’re a miserable fantasist who has left for years a trail of debt behind you.

“You have become and expert con merchant taking out contracts that there was never any intention to pay and gaining some benefits from them.”

But it was not the first time Miles Prestland-Windsor, aged 30, from Oswaldtwistle, had dishonestly claimed goods and had previously been jailed for running phony businesses.

Chester Crown Court heard on Tuesday he told bosses at IP Phone Solutions, based on Arpley Street, that he ran the Canadian division of Equine Store UK, a company run by his grandfather.

The company set up internet and phone accounts for the fictional business and when they tried to take a payment from Equine Stores UK’s account had it declined.

But the account details Prestland-Windsor had given out actually belonged to another business who contacted IP Phone Solutions to find out why they were trying to take money from them.

The defendant’s account was frozen in September, leaving the company £800 out of pocket.

Prestland-Windsor had previously used a similar business name - Equine Store Limited - to set up an account in 2005 and write cheques that bounced and was jailed for two years for that offence.

In 2011 he was also jailed for two years after setting up PSC Trading Group UK and renting central Manchester offices which he never paid for.

He was also banned from being a company director.

Rachel Cooper, defending, said: “He’s something of a fantasist, he doesn’t seem to be doing it for monetary gain. He didn’t use the services “A feature of his offending is he’s not very good at it. Every offence has been detected quite early.

“His partner has been clear he will not tolerate this kind of behaviour. It appears to be working as there have been no further offences since this offence in 2012.

“He has been given custody on a number of occasions and it has not made a difference.”

After pleading guilty to obtaining services dishonestly Judge Dutton handed him a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for two years with a supervison order and 200 hours unpaid work.

He was also banned from being a company director for 15 years.