A car dealer from Omagh has been found guilty at Newry Crown Court of advertising and selling 'clocked' cars including reducing the mileage of a VW Scirocco by 52,000 miles.

The Trading Standards Service brought the case against Samuel McConnell, director of SMC Cars & Commercials, and Ryan McKittrick, a sales executive of the same company.

McConnell pleaded guilty to five charges under the Fraud Act 2006. He was sentenced to 240 hours of community service to be completed within 12 months and ordered to pay £7,920 in compensation to the four victims within 12 weeks.

McKittrick also pleaded guilty to five charges under the Fraud Act 2006. He received the same sentence of 240 hours of community service to be completed within 12 months.

The investigation began following a customer complaint that SMC Cars & Commercials was selling vehicles with altered mileages. TSS investigations revealed that the company had sold four such vehicles to unsuspecting consumers, including: