A judge has praised the Manchester Evening News for helping trap a bogus solicitor.

For nearly two years conman Anthony Burton repeatedly fooled members of the legal profession into thinking he was a qualified freelance solicitor, and despite a long record and no legal qualifications, he twice appeared in court representing clients.

The Manchester Evening News exposed Burton, proving that he was illegally working as a solicitor, when a reporter posed as a hard-up young woman arrested for shoplifting, desperate for legal help - with cash upfront.

The reporter met with Burton at a Manchester pub, where he said he was a solicitor.

However when another MEN reporter challenged him with his real name, Santo, he made a dash for the door and was captured on film by a waiting photographer.

Appearing at Chester Crown Court seven months after being captured by police, having been on the run for 22 months, Burton admitted three counts of false accounting and two charges of acting as a solicitor when unqualified.

While passing sentence, Judge Roger Dutton said: ''I would like to congratulate all those who investigated this matter. Those worthy of particular mention are the Manchester Evening News for exposing criminal activities yet again."

He was sentenced to 18 months for false accounting and 13 months for acting as a solicitor while unqualified, both sentences to run concurrently.

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