A fraudulent second-hand car salesman who provided false information about dangerous vehicles has been jailed for four years.

Majad Hussain, 33, who was trading as House of Cars in Tidmarsh Lane, Tidmarsh, pleaded guilty to five offences of making false representations as to the conditions of used cars, four offences of possession of false stamps purporting to be from car servicing businesses and one offence of possession of falsified service histories for motor vehicles.

Following an investigation by the Public Protection Partnership, Hussain, of Broadmark Road in Slough, was sentenced at Reading Magistrates' Court on Monday, January 21.

Hussain set up the House of Cars business in which he advertised cars through Autotrader, portraying them as being in good condition with full service histories.

After receiving complaints from members of the public, the investigation confirmed that false stamps were used to falsify entries in the service books. A number of the cars sold were dangerous and unfit for driving on the road.

Complaints generally related to mechanical issues, with one car struggling to drive off the business premises.

Customers would be left with faulty vehicles or out of pocket when trying to repair the cars themselves, with the business refusing to permit them to reject the vehicle and cancel the agreement.

Complaints also included aggressive behaviour and some customers had their deposits retained if they refused to buy the advertised car.

Judge Daly expressed the view that Hussain played a leading role, that some of the vehicles sold were defective and dangerous and that individuals lost money and were treated with contempt and threats when they complained.

Councillor Iain McCracken, chairman of the Public Protection Joint Committee, said: “This was a serious case of fraud as reflected in the four year sentence handed down to Mr Hussain.

"It is hoped it will send a clear message to anyone thinking of going down the same route to think again.

"The Public Protection Partnership will investigate and where appropriate prosecution will follow. I would like to acknowledge the painstaking work of the trading standards team, PPP Joint Case Management Unit and West Berkshire Legal Team in bringing this matter to a conclusion."