A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history. Thomas Scragg, 56, was jailed for a total of 17 years following three separate fraud convictions against HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) ~ the latest, in March 2011, for stealing millions of pounds in employee PAYE tax. The conman from Solihull, West Mids. used his business Moya Payroll which managed staff wages of construction industry companies to steal over £26m in tax over a five year period between 2002 and 2007. Other investigations revealed a further £8m of stolen PAYE tax in a 10-month period from April 2007 to February 2008.His co-defendant, Paul Phillips from Derbyshire, was jailed for nine years.The latest conviction for offences in March 2011, followed a joint investigation by West Midlands Police and HMRC.The extent of Scragg's racket has remained a secret until now as cases against his two henchmen Carl Johnson, 49, and his brother Anthony, 51, from Wolverhampton progressed through court.
A Brit photographer has captured one of the world's most camera-shy species of fish - during a game of underwater peek-a-boo .
WONDERS of the world have been transformed into their mini-versions in a seven-year round the world adventure .
USUALLY full to bursting, these London Underground stations stand silent and completely commuter free .
WIDE EYED and staring straight down the lens of the camera, this intrigued seal is ready for his close up .
WEARING tiny Christmas accessories, these adorable babies get into the spirit of the season .
BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .
A Birmingham man inspired by sci-fi film Wall-E, has created a one- wheeled vehicle, controlled by signals from his BRAIN .
A young otter wades through a lake with his eyes set on an older rival’s fish .
A pair of adorable polar bear cubs play-fight with each other in the Alaskan snow .
WITH LUSH GREEN LANDSCAPES stretching out as far as the eye can see, you're in for a treat at these one of a kind treehouses .
Playing, splashing and generally messing around, these polar bears show they certainly have a soft spot for the water, and not just each other .
A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post .