A WELL-KNOWN Bromsgrove businessman and charity founder is at the centre of a major fraud investigation.

Police and NHS fraud investigators are looking into claims that Hampton's The Opticians, in Crown Close, which recently changed its name to Crown Eyecare Centre, allegedly made false and inappropriate claims totalling tens of thousands of pounds.

The probe into the firm, owned by Michael Hampton, includes looking into whether claims were made for eye tests for people who had already died.

Mr Hampton, his wife, Barbara, and company director Ian Robinson were arrested earlier this month following two searches at two addresses in north Worcestershire.

KILLED

They have not been charged and are all on bail until Tuesday January 9 while the investigation continues.

In May Mr Hampton's 20-year-old daughter, Sarah, was killed in a car crash and he set up The Sarah Hampton Foundation Trust to raise cash to set up an eye clinic in Romania.

The charity is not connected with the investigation, which is being carried out by NHS Counter Fraud Operational Services.

NHS Directorate of Counter Fraud Services national communication and liaison manager, David McNeil, confirmed the trio were arrested in connection with an investigation into alleged multiple inappropriate claims and services.

He added: "We are talking about claims made over a period of three or four years, potentially amounting to a large sum of money running into tens of thousands of pounds.

"It will be an in-depth investigation and part of that analysis will examine whether some of the claims which have been made are for people who are dead.

"Charges have not yet been laid as further investigations take place."

Several months ago Worcestershire Health Authority discovered an "anomaly" in the amount of claims they received and referred the case to NHS fraud investigators.

Mr Robinson and Mr Hampton said they would not confirm or deny anything about the investigation.