A BOWNESS gift shop owner has been jailed for 27 months for evading £75,000 tax.

Claire Marie Greenall ran three shops all called The Personal Touch in Windermere, Blackburn and Wigan and selling fashion accessories and gifts.

Greenall, 41, of Rosedale Avenue, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to four VAT fraud offences at Preston Crown Court on October 10 and was then jailed for 27 months by the same court on November 8.

Greenall’s shops were based at Quarry Rigg, Bowness; Market Way, The Mall, Blackburn, also known as Lord Street Mall; and Hope Street, The Galleries, Wigan.

HM Revenue and Customs found Greenall deliberately hid sales to evade paying VAT between 2011 and 2015 despite earning more than £686,203 in sales.

A HMRC investigation revealed Greenall had suppressed her sales and a forensic accountant was employed to determine the scale of the fraud from her business records.

Sandra Smith, assistant director of Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC, said: “Greenall lied on her tax returns to hide her true earnings and deliberately evade VAT payments. Evading tax is an insult to honest taxpayers and steals money from vital public services.

“We are determined to tackle tax fraud such as this to create a level playing field for all businesses. If you know of anyone who is committing tax fraud you can report them by calling the HMRC Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”