A FRAUDULENT used motorhome dealer based in Bromsgrove sold a vehicle for £17,000 despite it being an insurance write-off - and then forged a HPI check to hide evidence of the accident.

Richard Cooper, 47, of The Badgers, Barnt Green, has been slapped with a suspended prison sentence and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay costs totalling £16,657.

An investigation by Worcestershire Regulatory Services uncovered the con, which left a duped customer with an expensive motorhome that quickly developed "serious faults" and had to be sold for scrap.

Cooper and his company Alpine Motorhome Ltd, of Money Lane, Chadwich, appeared before Redditch Magistrates Court on Thursday, November 12, after being found guilty at an earlier trial of offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, the Fraud Act 2006 and the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981.

The 47-year-old advertised and sold a motorhome for £17,000 to an unsuspecting customer without any reference to an accident that meant the vehicle was an insurance write off.

The motorhome quickly developed a number of serious faults but Cooper refused to take it back.

He then provided a forged HPI check which was "deliberately altered" to hide the accident history.

But the customer obtained a new HPI check - a report that compiles information on a vehicle from police, the DVLA and other leading industry bodies - and realised the motorhome's true history.

This sparked an investigation by trading standards officers and led to the court case.

The court was told that Cooper carried out a sophisticated attempt to cover up the vehicle’s history - an offence aggravated by the fact Cooper was a motorhome dealer in whom customers should be able to put their trust.

Cooper was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for two years and disqualified from being a company director for two years.

He was also ordered to pay costs of £4,660, a victim surcharge of £100 and £10,000 compensation to the customer.

Cooper’s company, Alpine Motorhomes Ltd, was also fined £1,000 for two offences and ordered to pay £847 in costs and a victim surcharge of £50.

Councillor Bronwen Behan, chairman of the Worcestershire Regulatory Services joint committee, labelled Cooper "unscrupulous" and praised the "vital work" of trading standards officers.