A CAR dealer who cheated customers out of thousands of pounds has been warned he could be facing jail.

Gerry Swain, 68, pleaded guilty to ten counts of fraud when he appeared before a judge at Swindon Crown Court.

Swain admitted bouncing cheques and telling car owners they would receive money from the sale of a vehicle which never materialised.

Swain, who ran a car dealership at Cannings Hill, also deceived a relative of a car owner by claiming the vehicle, a Mazda, had been sold.

Of the ten charges he admitted two relate to people receiving cheques, totalling more than £1,000, which he knew would not be cleared by the banks.

On six occasions Swain, of Maryport Street, Devizes, told car owners they would receive sums of money on the sale of the vehicle which never arrived.

In total he admitted keeping £14,450 from those victims, with each losing sums between £400 and £4,250.

Robert Morgan-Jones, defending, said that the case clearly passed the custody threshold and asked for the case to be adjourned for a presentence report.

"It may be suitable for a suspended sentence: he is a man of 68 years with no previous convictions," he said.

Judge Tim Mousley QC adjourned the case to Friday, February 26, and released Swain on conditional bail until then.

He said: "You have pleaded guilty to all of these offences which, as you are aware, are so serious to merit a custodial sentence and that will be in the forefront of the mind of whichever judge sentences you."