AN £11,000 income tax dodger kept all his cash earnings from being self -employed, cheating the government out of revenue in a near four-year scam, a court heard.

Burnley magistrates were told how Paul Andrews, who was working as a salesman with Provident Personal Credit and collecting commission house-to-house, was said to have broken the law out of ‘desperation’.

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The hearing was told Andrews, 60, had left Earby Light Engineers after suffering an injury and then embarked upon a ‘disastrous’ cafe venture.

His wife fell ill with ME, she had to give up work and their income ended up drastically reduced.

Andrews is now in receipt of employment support allowance and disability living allowance, The defendant, of Skipton Road, Earby, admitted being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of income tax, between October 5, 2008 and April 5, 2012.

Andrews, who had no previous convictions, was given a community order with a two-month curfew, between 7pm and 7am, seven days a week. He must pay a £60 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

Prosecutor Dominic Howell told the court: "He says he got paid in cash. Clearly, the onus is on him to pay tax on that. He didn't do that."

The defendant should have paid tax to the tune of £10,977.32.

David Lawson, for Andrews, said before 2008, the defendant was a semi-skilled engineer, worked at Earby Light Engineers and sustained an injury at work which was akin to somebody suffering damaged nerves in the neck. Andrews had to make a claim for personal injury. felt isolated at work and left.

He then began a cafe venture that proved to be very unsuccessful and he lurched from one ‘financial disaster to another’. The defendant's wife had been working as a lab technician at a Burnley school, developed ME and had to stop work.