A farmer who defrauded creditors out of hundreds of thousands of pounds before going on the run has been ordered to pay his victims just £230 in compensation.

A total debt in excess of £980,000 hangs over Wayne Parker, 36 of Hazel Grove, Feltham, but formerly of Mildenhall.

Parker presented himself as a legitimate livestock owner, which allowed him to be given credit by a number of companies. 

However, Judge Nicola Talbot-Hadley ordered only £230 to be paid because this is all Parker can pay, on top of the victim surcharge of £170.

He was given three months to pay with a further 40 days to be added to his five-year jail sentence if he defaults.

There were so many victims Judge Talbot-Hadley decided the money should go to whoever would benefit from it the most, rather than everyone receiving a very small sum.

Previously, during sentencing, Judge Talbot-Hadley said he had spun a “web of deceit” over a period of two years and had made empty promises to pay creditors based on “fiction and lies”.

She said his business was reckless from the start and it was obvious he had no financial wherewithal and had taken on too much with no capital or savings to fall back on.

He evaded sentencing for nearly seven months until he was arrested in Hampshire on August 31 last year, during which time he worked for animal feed businesses, Ipswich Crown Court previously heard.

Parker had denied participating in a fraudulent business with intent to defraud creditors by incurring debts between February 2018 and May 2020 but was convicted after a three-week trial in October 2022.

He was previously prosecuted by Suffolk Trading Standards for posing a serious risk of spreading Bovine Tuberculosis. His crimes then included failing to dispose of farmed animal remains appropriately, moving large quantities of cattle without following the required processes and not keeping adequate records of his cattle.