A used car dealer who pocketed £1.1m in tax he should have paid for profits from his business, escaped a potential eight years in jail with 300 hours of unpaid work and a curfew.

Glenville Hill, of Spout House Cottage, Wortley, transformed his rural home into a used car dealership and retailed more than 1,300 car worth £8.5 million over nine years, between December 2004 and April 2013, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

But the 55-year-old failed to register his business with HMRC, and pocketed the £1.1m he should have paid in tax, National Insurance and VAT, the Sheffield Star reported.

Prosecutor Nicola Quinney revealed that Hill's tax evasion came to light in April 2013 after he approached an accountant to help get his tax affairs in order.

She said: "An investigation was launched into his trading activities in July 2013. He said he hadn't been involved in the motor trade until he registered as Deutschtek in April 2013.

"He had been trading as Spout House Motors for a number of years, and had been trading with British Car Auctions since April 2005."

Despite the sentencing guidelines for the fraudulent evasion of tax for an amount of £1.1million ranging from between five to eight years in prison, Recorder Anthony Kelbrick handed Hill a sentence of 300 hours of unpaid work at Sheffield Crown Court.

Andrew Smith, defending, told the court his client had shown a great deal of remorse and had attempted suicide on a number of occasions after the extent of his fraud became apparent.

He said: "Mr Hill acknowledges and accepts that his evasion of these taxes amounts to to serious criminal conduct.”

A Proceeds Of Crime Act hearing to claim back the tax Hill fraudulently pocketed will be held on August 9, The Sheffield Star said.