A crooked agent has been ordered to repay £22,000 to his victims or face another year in prison.

The sum is only part of the total involved.

Peter Bell, who ran the Enfields franchise in Northampton, was last May sentenced to 26 months in jail after stealing £92,000 from tenants and landlords. Bell admitted 15 counts of theft and dishonestly, mainly relating to tenants’ deposits.

He has now been given until May 14 to pay the sum of £22,000 to his victims.

DS Richard Barnett, of Northamptonshire Police’s Financial Investigation Unit, said: “We are pleased to be able to compensate some of the loss sustained by the victims of Mr Bell’s crime.

“The Financial investigation Unit works hard to ensure that crime doesn’t pay and even if you have gone to prison to serve time, we will still come after those assets which have been gained through illegal and criminal activity.”

A police investigation found Bell had acted with his ex-partner, Rebecca Kirton, 28, to divert funds from the company by convincing clients and landlords to deal in cash.

They were secretly using tenants’ deposits and rental money to pay for an expensive rental property, lease cars and go on foreign holidays, including a trip to the Monaco Grand Prix.

Bell’s office was shut down after a surprise visit by Enfields’ director Ian Soulsby, who immediately terminated the franchise and called in police.

Agent who stole £92,000 from tenants and landlords is jailed