QUIZ show cheat Charles Ingram was convicted of defrauding an insurance company out of £30,000 yesterday.

A jury at Bournemouth Crown Court found him guilty on two counts of deception.

The 40-year-old former Army major, of Easterton, Wiltshire, was cleared of a further five charges.

Ingram, who was convicted in April of trying to con £1m from the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? quiz show, had denied the insurance fraud charges.

He mouthed words of hope to himself as five not guilty verdicts were announced in succession.

But his look of hope turned to one of despair when the jury foreman announced guilty verdicts for the final two charges.

Ingram was found guilty of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception against Direct Line Insurance by falsely representing that he had made no insurance claims in the three years prior to taking out a policy in July 2001.

He was also found guilty of making a claim on the falsely obtained policy for £30,000 for a burglary at his home, in August 2001, a month before he took part in the ITV quiz show.

Judge Samuel Wiggs said he would give no indication of the type of sentence he would pass, and adjourned the case for sentencing on November 21.