Prison for 'director'

John Eric Caton, 62, was said by a judge to have deliberately flouted the law which bans bankrupts from being involved in the management of any companies.

As a result of one of his business deals, a woman who bought a Milnethorpe ice-cream shop from him lost every penny of the £21,000 she invested.

Caton, of Sefton Drive, was sent to prison for 15 months after pleading guilty at Carlisle Crown Court for two offences under the Disqualification of Directors Act.

He was also banned from being a company director for a further ten years after the court heard how he was involved in the management of both the Mint Snack and Cereal Co Ltd and Court and Commercial Services Ltd while still a bankrupt.

Judge Robert Brown said Caton had been well aware of the law and that Caton's claims not to have been a company director were mere "window dressing."

The judge told Caton: "In reality you were the guiding light behind the way both of these companies were managed. This was a deliberate flouting of the restrictions imposed by the law.

"You went into both these offences with your eyes wide open, knowing full well that you were not entitled to do so."

Caton was described in court as a "serial bankrupt" who paid little attention to court orders.

He was first declared bankrupt in 1984 and was caught flouting that ban in 1989.

He was bankrupted again in 1990 with debts of £50,000 and was jailed for 28 days after ignoring an order to do community service for two other offences in 1993.

Mr Roger Baldwin, defending, claimed that Caton thought that, even though he was bankrupt, he would be within the law if he did not call himself a company director.

He said: "There have been some unsatisfactory business arrangements but there was no dishonesty. He made no personal gain. He did not make a pile of money and he has no money stashed away."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.