£34m TAX FRAUD RACKET JAILED

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.

Other great stories
BEAR AND FOX IN SHOWDOWN

This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .

SLACKLINING USA

Popping impressive moves despite high-wiring at three THOUSAND feet .

THE JUMP

High up in the mountains and thousands of feet off the ground, a party of climbers were in for a shock as they came face to face with this frightening leap of faith .

HOP ON! FASHIONABLE FROG TRIES A SNAIL HAT ON FOR SIZE

FLAUNTING its new accessory, a fashionable green dumpy tree frog poses for the camera while wearing a SNAIL as a hat .

UNLIKELY PLAYMATES: BRAVE CHICKS PLAY WITH A PYTHON

A pair of chicks bravely decided to befriend a python, despite being the snake's favourite choice of food .

RELAXING OTTER

FLOATING effortlessly on his back, this little otter laps up a rare glimmer of English spring sunshine .

VICTORIAN TENNIS RULE BOOK REVEALS GAME PLAYED BY THREE

TENNIS was a game made for three according to the first Victorian rule book .

GIVE US A KISS - CHEEKY ORANGUTAN PUCKERS UP FOR CAMERA

SHOWING off her best assets for the camera, this cheeky orangutan is in the mood for love, puckering up her lips to blow the biggest kiss she can .

WOMAN TRANSFORMS HERSELF INTO CARTOON CHARACTERS USING PAINT

A makeup artist from the West Midlands magically transforms herself into famous cartoon characters using body paint .

BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS BROUGHT TO LIFE

BREATHING life back into old photographs, these black and white images are transformed by colour .

POLAR BEAR PLAY

WITH SNOW COVERING the ground around them, these two polar bears play fight .

INDONESIAN TRIBE UNTOUCHED BY MODERN LIFE

An Italian photographer travelled to the highlands of New Guinea where he met an Indonesian tribe untouched by the modern world .