Ben Ambrose, 44, of Tadpole Garden Village, Swindon, appeared at Swindon Crown Court at the start of April where he pleaded guilty to three counts of theft and five counts of fraud.

‘An investigation found that Ambrose had committed numerous offences, amounting to losses of hundreds of thousands of pounds for his victims’, Wiltshire Police said.

Police confirmed that the exact amount was ‘£300,000 total’.

Offences included ‘repeatedly failing to provide bespoke horseboxes for victims following purchase, taking multiple payments of tens of thousands of pounds from victims while lying about delays, while knowing that the build for the victim’s purchased horsebox was not progressing’, police said.

Aft