CONVICTED airline conman Victor Bassey has been deported back to Nigeria, officials have confirmed.

The fraudster - who was jailed for two years for setting up fake airline Excelsis - was held by the UK Border Agency after being released from prison in 2012.

Immigration officers knew he was not British and wanted to deport him back to his own country, but he refused to reveal his nationality meaning he could not be sent home until proof was found.

It is understood this was eventually provided by Nigerian officials who accepted Bassey was originally from their country.

The deportation was welcomed by the conman’s victims.

Jim Knight, who lost at least £15,000 after being hired by Bassey as a public relations expert, said he “felt sorry for Nigeria”.

He added: “He’s got a long record which shows he’s almost an habitual fraudster. I almost feel like we’ve dumped him on someone else and I just hope nobody there has to go through the same agony and strife that people did here.”

A Home Office spokesman confirmed Bassey had been deported.

He added: “Those who come to the UK must abide by our laws. We take all necessary steps to deport criminals and in 2012 we removed 4,500 foreign national offenders.”

Bassey was jailed for two years in December 2010 after pleading guilty to three charges of fraudulent trading, four charges of obtaining services dishonestly and a single charge of possessing articles for use in fraud.

The court heard how Bassey set up Excelsis in June 2009, promising to restore the air link between Durham Tees Valley Airport and London Heathrow.

A team of experienced airline managers was recruited, but Bassey's boasts turned out to be a flight of fancy.

The fraudster used fake documents to suggest he had access to millions of dollars from US banks.

Far from being a high-flying businessman, he lived in a terraced house in Middlesbrough.

Police said in court that he had used at least five aliases over the years, including Victor Omoyele, Howard Victor Jones and Victor Howard Jones.

Several different dates of birth were used on company documents and his passport was never found, although he was once charged with using a fake Nigerian passport.