FORMER Middlesbrough star Stewart Downing said today that he had been "let down very badly" by his former agent, who has been spared jail for tardy accounting.

Ian Elliott, 54, who represented the now Liverpool midfielder when multimillion-pound contracts changed hands, received a suspended prison sentence and was banned from running a company for a decade for his "woeful ineptitude".

Elliott, of Newcastle, admitted failing to provide information on time for tax returns for work he had done for Downing, Doncaster Crown Court heard.

The former Fifa-approved agent with 24 years experience, who is now financially ruined, had denied four further charges of fraud, of which he was acquitted after the Crown offered no evidence.

The charges, which relate to 2007 and 2008 when Downing was playing for Middlesbrough, came to light after Elliott's companies were investigated by HM Revenue and Customs, the court heard.

Elliott was acting as secretary of Stewart Downing Promotions Ltd - a firm set up to manage his celebrity endorsements and other matters which he went on to direct.

He also ran his own firms - a promotions company and a kitchen supplier - which Downing used.

Elliott was handling large sums of money, but his records were described by an accountant as "one of the worst accounts I have seen in my working life", the court was told.

Simon Pentol, defending, said married father Elliott was now working as a commission-based salesman and kitchen fitter and living in rented accommodation.

He earns around £20,000 a year, he said, and will never enjoy the privileged lifestyle of a football agent again.

"He's financially ruined," Mr Pentol added. "Mr Elliott fell short and he knows that.

"His otherwise lucrative business as a football agent has come to an end as a result of this."

Handing Elliott a six-month jail sentence suspended for two years, Judge Martin Bethel QC said: "Stewart Downing is and has been for a number of years a very successful, high-earning footballer.

"You befriended him and his family when he was very young and you took them into your confidence. They trusted you.

"He and his family were not sophisticated in any way in the management of companies.

"When it came to preparing the end-of-year accounts and dealing with Revenue and Customs, you took steps, as is plain in the evidence, to ensure Stewart Downing was kept in the dark over what was happening and you also took steps to extract the company from the mess you had created.

"I regard this offence to represent a breach of trust.

I regard this offence as a very serious one.

Speaking outside court, Downing, 27, said he was very pleased with the outcome but also felt "sorely let down" by his former agent.

"I'm overjoyed. It's been a long time coming," the midfielder said.

"I'm glad we got a result and we always knew we'd get there in the end.

"I'm obviously very sad too. I put a lot of trust into him.

"I think me and my family were let down very badly.

"It's obviously been a hard time for me, trying to play football with this on my mind.

"But you learn from your mistakes. I have to move on now and look back on this in a few years knowing I've moved on.

"I can concentrate on my football now and my family can get on with their lives."

After the case, Elliott said he wanted to put the matter behind him.