A FRAUDSTER who conned his colleagues out of hundreds of pounds after offering to book them a holiday has been sentenced.

Barry Wayne Thorley, of Basingwerk Avenue in Greenfield, appeared at Mold Magistrates Court on Thursday morning.

The 36-year-old had been convicted at a previous hearing of four counts of fraud, in that he took money for booking a holiday that did not exist in Flintshire between April and July 2019.

Prosecutor Wyn Jones told the court that at the time of the offences, Thorley was a mental health support worker.

Being good friends, he and his colleagues used to go on holidays together.

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And in 2019, Thorley told two of those colleagues that he could organise another such holiday - a five night stay in Benidorm for what looked to be "a very good price."

The two complainants agreed, with one booking two other people up, and paid him for what they believed to be an all-inclusive deal.

They were "presumably very excited" to be going on the trip, Mr Jones said, which included a villa and use of an airport executive lounge.

But when the complainants were all packed and ready to go, they learned nothing had actually been booked; no flights, no taxis - nothing.

When they tried to reach out to the defendant, they received a message from him saying that he was sorry but he was starting a new life.

He'd taken over £800 in total from them.

Probation officer Andrew Connah told the court: "He accepts full responsibility for the offences and is ashamed of his behaviour.

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"He very much wants to make amends for his actions and understands it was a significant breach of trust, but at the time he was struggling with a gambling addiction and was £3,500 in debt.

"He dug himself in a hole and didn't feel able to put his hands up for his actions, so unfortunately moved out of area to start afresh somewhere else."

Mr Connah said the defendant had been living homeless in the Southampton area but has since moved back to Flintshire to support his family following a bereavement.

According to Mr Connah, the defendant claims gambling is no longer an issue for him and the £3,500 debt has been paid.

Gary Harvey, defending, conceded that the offences constituted a breach of trust, adding: "He organised this and he let those people down."

Thorley received a 12 month community order with 210 hours of unpaid work.

He was ordered to pay back £878 to the victims by way of compensation, as well as £85 costs and a £90 victim surcharge.