Commendation for police constable who brought down Peterlee businessman Stewart Caygill, who forged mother's will

Stewart Caygill was jailed this week for four years for trying to swindle his brother out of thousands of pounds from the estate of their mum, Theresa.

The official police investigation was launched after months of amateur detective work by Philip Caygill unearthed missing money and the fraudulent will.

Once police got involved, PC Paul Harbisher was assigned to the case, and his work was praised by Teesside Crown Court trial judge, Deborah Sherwin.

Judge Sherwin recommended the officer for a commendation from his chief constable, Mike Barton, for the work he did throughout two trials - one of which was aborted.

She said: "It is quite clear he took great care in the way he conducted himself, and it seemed to me he was quite willing to assist either side in his enquiries.

"He really went the extra mile, especially on the night he stayed up until 5am carrying out investigations on the internet to help the trial progress."

The trial - the second one, after the first was "ambushed" by Caygill introducing fake evidence - ended with the jury taking just 20 minutes to convict him.

Father-of-three Caygill, 53, of Yohden Crescent in Peterlee, County Durham, was found guilty of charges of forgery and using a false instrument.

But even in an interview with a probation officer after his conviction, the businessman tried to pass the blame onto others for his criminal activity.

His barrister, William Byrne, told the court that Caygill had planned to equally distribute his mum's estate "as he thought his mother wanted".

But Judge Sherwin dismissed his last-minute admissions, and said: "I don't accept a word you say about anything . . . you still continue to tell lies."

Caygill - a director of Peterlee Landscaping - mounted a campaign of intimidation against his brother once the police got involved.

Fake documents pretending to show he was a police informant were given to local companies.