A former Ely City and Chatteris Town footballer was jailed for three years after being found guilty of a £70,000 fraud.

Andrew Chatters, 39, formerly of Witchford, was found guilty of two counts of cheating the public revenue contrary to common law yesterday following a three-week trial at Brighton Crown Court.

Alan Tully, assistant director of fraud investigation service for HMRC, said: “Andrew Chatters thought that he could fiddle his taxes and line his own pockets but he was wrong.

“He will now pay the price by losing his freedom and his assets.

“The vast majority of people in the UK are honest and pay the taxes that are due, but if you know of anyone who is not please report them by calling our 24 hour hotline on 0800 59 5000.”

Chatters, a former captain of Ely City (and who played 17 times for Chatteris, scoring twice) dealt with the running and financial management of A and J Racing, based in West Sussex.

The company owned 15 racehorses and provided equine construction services, building stables and gallops.

The court heard that during his time with the company, Chatters had fraudulently claimed a repayment of £34,576 in VAT.

An HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC) inquiry later found that he had also failed to declare VAT charged on the sale of racehorses and equine construction services totalling a further £34,500 in VAT.