A man from Essex who stole more than £12,000 through tax fraud has been sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Edward Roy Daniels, 24 and from Wickham Road in Colchester was found guilty of four counts of fraud by false representation under The Fraud Act at Ipswich Crown Court.

Daniels, who has previous convictions for fraud and theft, was investigated by HMRC after investigators had found problems with his previous tax returns.

Daniels claimed that he had overpaid tax and was due repayments, but he was uncovered by investigators

An HMRC spokesperson said: “Daniels is a cheat, who ignored the chances he was previously handed by the courts. He’s now behind bars paying the price for stealing from the public purse.

“Tax fraud takes money from the schools and hospitals we all rely on. We ask anyone with information about suspected tax fraud to contact our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”