A Shropshire businessman who operated a number of timeshare holiday companies was a conman who cheated his customers out of tens of thousands of pounds, a court was told.

David Oakley was said to have used other people’s money to pay his own debts.

A jury at Shrewsbury Crown Court was told the series of allegations of fraud and deception against 62-year-old Oakley were the “activities of a conman”.

While details of the case were outlined to the jury Oakley was not in the dock. Recorder Denis Desmond had ruled he can be tried in his absence.

At earlier hearings Oakley, of Salters Lane, Shrewsbury, has denied three charges of running travel and holiday firms – Caribbean Marketing (UK) Ltd, Voyager International Ltd and VIP Connections Ltd – while banned from managing or being the director of a company.

He has also denied fraudulent trading by running the businesses for the purpose of defrauding customers.

Oakley also denies using forged cheques, obtaining money by deception and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between 1999 and 2002 when Oakley was said to have been based at offices in Frankwell.

Mr David Matthew, prosecuting, said Oakley set up Caribbean Marketing Ltd a month after a 12 month suspended prison sentence had been completed in May, 1999. Two years earlier Oakley was convicted of fraud and banned from running companies for 10 years.

Mr Matthew said Caribbean Marketing ran up a £35,000 advertising bill.

The trial continues.