A man, 39 has been jailed for 20 months after fraudulantly selling products online. 

Norman Fowler, unemployed, of North End in Goxhill, Barrow-upon-Humber, pleaded guilty to nine counts of fraud by false representation yesterday.

He defrauded nine victims out of £21,000 over the course of five months, taking payments for items he advertised online through eBay and Gumtree which the buyers never received.

The fraudulent activity happened between January 11 and June 19, 2013.

Fowler also accepted nine further offences that will be served concurrently.

He was sentenced to 20 months in prison for each of the nine offences at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday, Tuesday October 17.

Fowler was charged with the offences on November 10, 2016, after a European Arrest Warrant was made by Essex Police.

He had fled to Spain prior to his trial at Norwich Crown Court for similar offences and was convicted in his absence.

He was re-arraigned by Essex Police upon extradition from Spain and began serving a nine-month prison sentence for his previous conviction. This sentence will run consecutively.

Investigating Officer, Detective Constable Tim Harris said: “Fowler went to great lengths to not only knowingly defraud the victims of this crime, but also delay court proceeding.

“He stole a significant amount of money from them by advertising and selling products which were never received by those who purchased them in good faith and I'm delighted we could bring him to justice.”