LOCAL solicitors have welcomed the jailing of "bad apple" Gary Grosberg.

Grosberg (44), who lived in Prestwich but had his offices in Leigh and Bolton, was sentenced to 15 months after being convicted of a £1m Legal Aid fraud at Liverpool Crown Court last week.

Mr Rob Hargreaves, a partner with Prestwich solicitors Butcher and Barlow, and spokesman for the Bury and District Law Society, said: "Although a case like this is embarrassing to the legal profession, we welcome the sentence as a deterrent.

"While we are keen to point out that this person did not practise law in the Prestwich area, he just lived here, we would echo the judge's comments that solicitors are not beyond the law.

"I can assure local people that one bad apple does not reflect on the whole of the profession and that, in Prestwich and the Bury area they can be certain of the best professional advice available."

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