TWO tax agents who were jailed for fraud have been ordered to pay back more than £60,000 or face another ten months behind bars.

Michael Wike, 65, formerly of Watchet, and David Weller, 63, formerly of Weston-super-Mare, were jailed after a HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigation found they had committed tax frauds totalling £109,237.44.

On May 15, 2018, Weller was sentenced to 18 months in jail after he failed to submit his personal Income Tax returns and his company VAT returns, evading a total of £83,237.44.

Wike was sentenced to ten months in jail after failing to submit his personal Income Tax returns, evading £26,000 in unpaid tax.

Weller and Wike have since been released from prison to serve the remainder of their sentences under licence.

On April 23 at Bristol Crown Court, Weller was ordered to pay £48,466.42 by July 22 and at an earlier hearing in March, Wike was ordered to pay £17,909.32 by June 28.

Both men have been given default prison sentences and face a further 10 months imprisonment if they do not comply. If the default sentence is served the order for repayment remains and the men will still owe the money.