A CAR dealer who sold death traps to unsuspecting members of the public is behind bars.

Andrew Robson bought unroadworthy vehicles at auction at knock-down prices but did no work on them before putting them up for sale at a profit.

Some customers were no more than two miles into their journey after buying from Robson, before their cars developed faults.

The 34-year-old offered to have repairs done or give a refund - but continually stalled, and neither promise was carried out.

Robson - prosecuted for the same thing in 2013 - was repeatedly warned by trading standards officials about his trading methods, until he was finally charged last year.

Teesside Crown Court heard that many of the motors he sold were legitimate and roadworthy, but Stockton Borough Council received complaints from at least ten people.

A man who bought a Mazda 5 after seeing it advertised on eBay as in "good working condition" found the turbocharger was broken and it had a heavy oil leak.

An elderly customer who wanted a MINI One for his grandson paid £2,900 for it, but it broke down within an hour, with the electrics failing and oil leaking.

Prosecutor Jonathan Walker said Robson got the car back and made numerous promises to refund the customer, but never did.

Inquiries with the previous owner revealed the vehicle had been faulty when he part-exchanged it, with the engine management light coming on and going off all the time.

The investigation also showed that over 22 months, Robson had spent £471,000 at auctions and as a general rule, sold cars for twice what he paid.

A woman looking for a motorhome-type vehicle came across a camper van being sold by Robson and paid a £250 deposit on the understanding he would put it through its MoT.

She travelled by train to the North-East with her husband and two dogs, hoping to pick up the van and head off on holiday, but the test had not been done.

After taking it to a local MoT centre, the couple were told it was a death-trap, said Mr Walker, with insecure seatbelt fittings, three seats removed and replaced with a passenger seat on wooden batons screwed into the chassis.

A woman bought a LandRover Freelander advertised on Gumtree after Robson told her it would be fine for towing a caravan.

It had faulty brakes, needed two new tyres, and a short while into the journey, it lost power and the back axel seized - leaving a £1,000 bill for it to be recovered and returned.

Another customer bought a Peugeot 206, but it soon developed faults with the gearbox, and the courtesy car provided by Robsob "blew up", said Mr Walker.

A Vauxhall Corsa advertised on Facebook as having a valid MoT certificate did not have one, but the trader insisted it was "spot on".

The new owner was driving a friend and three children when the brakes failed, and Mr Walker said: "It was a complete death-trap and an accident waiting to happen."

Robson, of Oaklee Close, Norton, near Stockton, admitted fraudulent trading, and was jailed for ten months.

Judge Sean Morris told him: "You fobbed people off with a pack of lies. You are an inveterate liar when it comes to business. They were warning you time and time again."

Ayman Khokher, mitigating, admitted father-of-one Robson had deceived people with "a cavalier approach" and it was "sheer good fortune" none of the drivers were injured or killed.

"It is a sad tale of a young man who hoped to channel a boyhood passion into a business, but the economic climate was against him," said Mr Khokher.

"The odds were always stacked against him and unsurprisingly he struggled to make ends meet. Frustrated by his misfortune, the clear line between a legitimate trader and downright fraud unfortunately became blurred."