A ROGUE Cradley Heath car dealer has been put behind bars for the second time after he was caught again conning people into buying dangerous vehicles.

Geoff Badlan was jailed for a year in 2013 and barred from selling or advertising cars for sale for 10 years following his conviction on 27 carbon copy crimes.

But the 45-year-old went back to his old ways between August 2017 and May 2018 when he once again put the lives of customers at risk by selling them sub-standard vehicles.

Badlan set up two businesses - Black Country Logistics and Stourbridge Motor Company - and used them to place a string of adverts of cars for sale on UsedEverywhere.com.

Mark Jackson, prosecuting, said Badlan placed further adverts on Facebook and used a false identity but he was finally rumbled when one of the customers he duped reported him to Dudley's trading Standards Department.

The woman, Mr Jackson told Wolverhampton Crown Court, had been conned by Badlan into paying £1,295 for a Vauxhall Astra Estate which was on sale at a site in Stourbridge Road, Brierley Hill.

She soon realised there was a major problem with the central locking system and complained to Badlan who fobbed her off when she asked for a refund.

The Vauxhall was then taken to another garage where mechanics discovered it had a string of faults that would have cost more to repair than the vehicle was worth.

Badlan, of Archer Gardens, Cradley Heath, admitted recklessly engaging in a commercial practice and breaching his 10 year ban that stopped him from selling and advertising cars for sale.

He was locked up for a second time for 21 months and further ordered to pay £1,820 to the disappointed woman who had been conned into purchasing the Astra.

Carl Templar-Veasey, for Badlan, said his client accepted he had been breaking the law when he committed the offences and he knew there was no alternative to a second spell in prison.

Mr Jackson who was prosecuting on behalf of Dudley Council said Badlan had placed 127 adverts for vehicles for sale on the two businesses he launched and when introduced to customers he said his name was Mark.

But it did not take long for Trading Standards Investigations to realise he was really Geoff Badlan.