Jason Huntley and Kenneth Lawton, from Stoke, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit fraud through false representation, after defrauding RK Wholesale Limited (RKW) of £1.1m over a four-year period.

The pair conspired to commit the fraud between January 2014 and April 2019 by signing off inflated delivery notes and invoices.

Huntley, who was an employee at Stoke-based RKW, was responsible for purchasing bags and small boxes for the company from BK Industrial Supplies Limited, which was owned by Lawton.

Over the four years, Huntley intentionally signed off inflated delivery notes and invoices from BK Industrial.