A Pontsian model railway creator conned customers out of more than £15,000 by taking orders and then coming up with a string of lies about why he hadn’t completed the work, a court has heard.

Colin Harding, 57, who admitted four charges of fraud by false representation, used pictures from the internet to make it seem like work was being carried out on model railway layouts and also told customers that his home had been flooded after taking money in deposits.

But prosecutor Maggie Hughes said those claims were false and that Harding had failed to carry out the work he agreed he would between February 2018 and May 2019.

Harding also admitted a charge of failing to comply with electrical safety regulations after it emerged that second hand components he had used were considered unsafe with experts saying they posed an electric shock risk.

Ms Hughes said Harding, of Glaslwyn, had taken orders from four customers from across the UK and Ireland, but that despite accepting thousands of pounds in deposits had failed to meet the requirements of the agreement.

She said that when he was confronted by disgruntled customers, Harding made claims including that his house and workshop had been flooded, that he had needed emergency dental treatment and that his son had been in hospital.

One of the customers who had paid a £3,500 deposit, paid a second sum of £3,500 after Harding said that changes to the layout the customer wanted meant the cost had gone up, but when the customer visited Harding’s home and discovered that his home had not been flooded, Harding said he had meant his “other home in Aberystwyth”.

Ms Hughes said that photos that Harding had sent to customers to show that work was progressing had actually been taken from the internet.

Defence solicitor Alan Lewis said Harding had been struggling financially at the time and while he had not deliberately intended to take money without completing work he had found himself in an awkward situation that meant he “dug a big hole for himself”.

Mr Lewis said that at the time Harding had been suffering with a range of issues, including debt and family issues, and said he had not initially taken work orders with the intention of defrauding customers, but had eventually started using the deposits he received for living costs.

Harding told a probation officer he felt “terrible” about the offences and wishes he could “turn the clock back”.

While there was a total compensation claim of over £15,000 for the five people affected by the offences, District Judge David Parsons said he accepted that Harding’s financial situation meant he would not be able to pay compensation at that level.

Instead, he was ordered to pay 25 per cent of the compensation claims, totalling just over £4,000.

However, he was given a suspended prison sentence of six months, suspended for 15 months, for each charge to run concurrently.

No costs were awarded.