A MAN who kept a retired teacher a virtual prisoner for several months in squalid conditions has been ordered to pay him £1,000 in compensation.

Mohammed Ballal, who was sentenced to 50 months behind bars after admitting false imprisonment, fraud and two offences of assault, was also made subject to a confiscation order of £4116.44 and forced to pay £3116.44 in compensation to PSA Finance at a hearing a Burnley Crown Court.

A judge had previously heard how Ballal, of Southfield Street, Nelson, bullied 63-year-old Gerald Kennedy into transferring ownership of his home to someone else and buying a £22,000 sports car.

Mr Kennedy was the victim of regular assaults including being throttled, punched and kicked between the legs, as the defendant treated him as his chauffeur and 'lackey'.

His ordeal only ended when Mr Kennedy was able to escape from the bedsit and confide what had happened to a trusted friend. As well as the jail term, Ballal, 42, was also made the subject of a lifetime restraining order banning him from contacting Mr Kennedy. The compensation orders were made during a proceeds of crime hearing on Friday.

Coun Sheila Wicks, who represents the Southfield ward on Pendle Council, said she believed Mr Kennedy deserved more than £1,000 because of the ordeal he had been through.

She said: “It is good that the victim has got something back, but I do not think it is enough.

“I hope the chap got his house back too. “This is a disgraceful case and it is horrible to hear that it happened in this area.

“Hopefully he has got support and he can get on with his life.”