AN Exeter businessman has been sent to prison for a fraud committed eight years ago in Wales after police discovered he had been living secretly in Devon.

Simon Thomas, who ran Apple Conservatories in Exeter, was found guilty of three counts of theft of a motor vehicle and obtaining money by deception, and is now serving a six-month jail sentence.

Thomas owned a garage in Llwydcoed, near Aberdare, South Wales, but fled six years ago with thousands of pounds owing to customers after his business ran into trouble and angry customers threatened his family.

He reinvented himself, sometimes using the alias Simon Bishop, and last year bought the Exeter conservatories franchise.

Thomas was living in a large detached home in Ash Court, Crediton, with his wife and two children, when by chance on August 14, last year, he was stopped by Devon and Cornwall police while driving a green Saab.

Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard that Mr Thomas had pocketed the cash from the sale of three cars, one of which had only been brought to the garage for a repair.

Sentencing Thomas to a total of six months' imprisonment, Judge John Curran told him: "This was a serious breach of trust committed against people who could ill afford it. After the matter came to light you left the area, changing your name and living in another part of the country and you were only apprehended by accident."

Neighbours in Ash Court told the Echo of their shock at the revelations about Mr Thomas.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said: "He lived a few doors down from us and we knew that he ran Apple Conservatories, but we were completely unaware of his history."

Another said: "Our houses are all quite separate. We knew that he was from Wales, but did not know anything about this."

Mr Thomas took over the Exeter franchise of Apple Panels, at Apple Lane, near the Sandygate roundabout, last April and traded as Apple Conservatories.

Customers were temporarily left in the lurch when his business collapsed.

But Apple Panels has bought back ownership of the franchise and is working with Mr Thomas's clients.

Apple Panels spokesman Bill Mackay said: "As a company we have always been a separate business to that of Mr Thomas, who had bought a franchise and formed his own company.

"We were unaware of the trouble Simon was in until we started to get phone calls to our main office which brought it to our attention.

"We had the option of shutting the door on the Exeter operation but we came in to pick up the pieces to maintain the reputation of the Apple name and will be helping customers on a case by case basis."