A former director of a lettings agency has been banned from acting as a company director for three and a half years, after failing to protect deposits.

Instead, the money had been used to benefit the company.

A total of 23 tenants and landlords were exposed to losses of £40,456.

Paul Davison, 49, was a director of London firm Docklands and City Lettings, which went into liquidation in May 2013.

It had assets of just £3,309, liabilities of £352,828 and a deficiency of £349,519.

Davison, who has now given an undertaking to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which disqualifies him from managing or in any way controlling a company, or being a director until June 24, 2018.

Davison, of Leeds, did not dispute that he had failed to exercise sufficient control over the business and that the company had failed to protect deposits.

Robert Clarke, head of company investigations north, said: “The public should be assured that the Insolvency Service will seek to disqualify the directors of companies that do not obey the law and use other people’s money for the benefit of the company.”