A conman who netted £284,000 from a huge VAT fraud and fiddling disability benefits has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Keiran Alastair Farrer, 38, used the money he obtained during years of deception to fund a lavish lifestyle, splashing out on expensive holidays and flying lessons costing more than £50,000.

He submitted dozens of tax returns for business purchases allegedly worth £2m, the city's crown court heard.

Those lucrative - and dishonest - VAT refund claims were discovered by fraud investigators looking into his benefits claim.

Farrer twice submitted false claims for Disability Living Allowance (DLA), dishonestly bringing him £41,000 over six years.

He told officials from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that he suffered from mental health problems and mobility problems so severe he had to use a wheelchair.

But covert surveillance by DWP investigators captured images of the defendant walking comfortably without a wheelchair, often while puffing on a cigarette. His VAT fraud, perpetrated over three years, saw him cream off £243,000 in refunds for business transactions that were entirely imaginary, the court heard.

The defendant, from Whinsmoor Drive, Harraby, Carlisle, admitted a VAT fraud which ran from October 2013 to July of last year; and he also pleaded guilty to twice making dishonest statements to obtain DLA by exaggerating his mobility restrictions and his personal care needs.

These offences were committed between 2010 and 2016.

At Carlisle Crown Court, Judge Peter Hughes QC was told that Farrer had an "appalling" record for crimes of dishonesty. His record consisted of 104 criminal offences, including theft and a previous fraud in 2014.

The judge referred to the previous fraud case, which he dealt with, saying: "I am told that at the time I said you were a thoroughly dishonest man.

"How right I was."

In August 2013, Farrer was registered as the proprietor of a car and van leasing company.

Its website told potential customers: "We specialise in sourcing the best car contract hire and van leasing special offers for both businesses and individuals from a range of automotive funders and dealers."

Over the period of the VAT fraud, said prosecutor Brendan Burke, Farrer submitted 34 bogus returns in which he claimed to have paid invoices for supplies worth £2m.

The barrister said:"As far as the crown is concerned, this business was more or less fictional in its entirety."

During the period of the fraud, Farrer took flying lessons at Carlisle Airport as he worked at gaining his pilot's licence.

Outside court in December last year, Farrer claimed he had been genuinely unwell following a crush injury at work in 2006.

He said: "I've been working as a driver and paying back money. Nobody told me to do that."

He suggested his original claim was genuine, and that his offending resulted of his illness.

In court today, Farrer wept as he was led from the dock to begin his sentence.

A spokesman for the Department for Works and Pensions said: "Only a small minority of benefit claimants are dishonest, but cases like this show how we are rooting out the unscrupulous minority who are cheating the system and diverting taxpayers’ money from those who really need it.

"We are determined to find those we suspect of abusing the welfare system by following up on tip-offs, undertaking surveillance and working with local councils and other Government departments.

“Deliberately not informing us of a change in your condition that may affect your claim is a crime.

"Don’t wait for our fraud investigators to find you - tell us of a change now. If you suspect someone of fraudulently claiming benefits, then call our National Benefit Fraud Hotline on 0800 854 440.