A ROGUE trader who "coerced" a homeowner into buying incorrectly labelled fish has been ordered to pay compensation.

Francis Gary Damsell labelled coley as halibut, river cobbler as turbot, and an unknown breed of fish labelled as bass.

The deception was uncovered by trading standards officials, who submitted the fish for DNA testing to confirm they were not the species referred to on their labels.

Damsell, of Gibside in Chester-le-Street, carried out his fish fakery in the sleepy hamlet of Crazies Hill, near Reading in Berkshire.

Reading Magistrates Court heard that the 48-year-old cold called a property in Crazies Hill in November 2015, selling fish from his van.

However, the home owner who bought 20 pieces of fish for £196 later complained to trading standards, that she had felt coerced into buying it.

She said she was not happy to buy that quantity, so reported the incident.

Damsell pleaded guilty to three offences of selling fish which had been given false descriptions of their species, offences contrary to Section 14 of the Food Safety Act 1990.

He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 200 hours unpaid work, ordered to pay £196 compensation, a £60 victim surcharge and costs of £2,723.

Councillor Pauline Jorgensen, Wokingham Borough Council’s executive member for resident services, said: "This is yet another example of the pressure put upon residents by some doorstep sellers. In this case, the goods were clearly misrepresented and not one but all three types of fish descriptions turned out to be false."