A fraudster spun a web of lies from Hertfordshire to York as he conned his way to thousands of pounds worth of goods and services, a court heard.

John Derek Bush persuaded a Watford garage to give him a courtesy car while his non-existent Porsche 4x4 was being “repaired”, then drove the £13,000 borrowed car north before abandoning it in a supermarket car park near York, said Alan Mitcheson, prosecuting.

Bush got a Thirsk garage to carry out £1,800 of repairs to another car he didn’t own, drove off in a second courtesy car and never returned to pay.

He stole two cheques from a businessman who trusted him so much he recommended Bush to the owner of a holiday cottage, who Bush then also defrauded. He used the cheques at a Tesco store without a cheque guarantee card.

Finally, he persuaded the owner of a holiday cottage in the York area to let him rent it and failed to pay the £500 bill. He already had a long list of convictions for dishonesty.

“It is the activity of a man who by history and by example is clearly an accomplished fraudster, accomplished because he seems able to convince a number of people to provide him with goods and services free of charge,” said Mr Mitcheson.

Bush, 35, of Mill House Caravan Site, Askern, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to five charges of fraud and asked for five more similar offences to be taken into consideration.

Recorder Graeme Cook said Bush could be described as a “professional fraudster” and gave him a 14-month prison sentence suspended for two years on condition that he does 200 hours of unpaid work.

He must also pay £3,401 compensation to some of his victims. The judge regretted he was unable to award compensation to all victims because he did not have enough detail about their losses.

For Bush, Kevin Blount said at the time of the frauds, he had been homeless and having difficulty making ends meet because he had been in a relationship with a drug addict.

He had since ended the relationship and now had a settled home. Despite having health problems, he was helping to care for an older man on the caravan site where he lived.