A Yorkshire man who conned £100,000 out of over 500 people selling non-existent holiday homes and electronics has been jailed for fraud.

Lewis Middleton, 30, from Hull, advertised wooden lodges and caravan breaks for rent on well-known websites and social media sites.

He took deposits of around £200 a time from people who would later find out the accommodation they had booked did not exist or was not his to rent out.

Middleton also offered PlayStation 5 consoles and garden furniture for sale on social media and selling sites.

Lewis Middleton conned over £100,000 out of potential holiday-home buyers for lets that didn't exist.

Again, he took money from buyers but did not deliver the goods as he also didn’t have them to sell.

Between 2017 and 2022 Middleton scammed payments from 565 people, from across the UK, totalling £106,685.92.

Officers from the Proactive Economic Crime Team from the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YHROCU) investigated the case and Middleton was arrested.

The 30-year-old admitted fraud offences at a previous court hearing and appeared before Kingston Upon Hull Crown Court for sentencing on Wednesday (Mar 6).

Middleton was jailed for two and a half years.

Speaking after the sentencing T/Detective Chief Inspector Jon Hodgeon acting head of the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Economic Crime Unit said: “Middleton defrauded a large volume of people through online trading and social media platforms by not producing the goods people had paid for. Victims would sometimes only discover the holidays they’d paid their hard-earned money for didn’t actually exist when they arrived at the destination.”

“I’m pleased that the scale of his offending has been reflected in the custodial sentence he was given.”

“I also hope it encourages victims to report this kind of offending as we police do investigate it and we do take action.”

Yorkshire fraudster conned £100,000 out of over 500 people to buy non-existent holiday homes