Couple guilty of VAT fraud sentenced by court in Cornwall

Two farm owners have appeared in front of a court in Cornwall for sentencing on a single count of VAT fraud.

Caroline Beech, 54, and her partner Patrick Ancill, 66, were convicted by a jury of defrauding HMRC of thousands of pounds by "playing the VAT system" over six years, even though their trekking business was actually an empty field.

Beech was handed down a sentence of ten months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months and Ancill received a sentence of 24 months suspended for 18 months.