A CROOKED accountant plundered hundreds of thousands of pounds from farmers who trusted him to invest their foot-and-mouth compensation.

Thomas Alder, 54, stole nearly £700,000 from clients' accounts - even though he had known some of them for 30 years and counted them as friends.

The 54-year-old, who lived in a £400,000 house at Eggleston, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, pleaded guilty to 16 counts of obtaining money by deception.

Among the charges he admitted at Teesside Crown Court were one of stealing £150,000 and two of £100,000 each.

The cash had been entrusted to him by farmers whose business had been devastated by foot-and-mouth. When their compensation cheques arrived from the Government they hoped he would invest it for a better future.

Now they face ruin because the money has gone.

Even worse, they cannot reclaim the money via the national compensation scheme run by the Institute of Chartered Accountants because it has emerged that Alder was excluded some years ago.

Friends and clients who knew him as a quiet, friendly family man were stunned when a routine audit revealed large discrepancies in the accounts he handled.

Alder, 54, was widely respected by the business community - he carried out work for several firms, including The Teesdale Mercury newspaper - and farmers in Teesdale.

Judge Recorder Davey remanded him on bail for pre-sentence reports. No date was fixed for the next hearing at which he will be sentenced, but it is expected to be in about ten weeks' time.

Alder was the sole partner in the accounting firm of Chipchase and Company, which had an office in Galgate, Barnard Castle.

Since his arrest he has been declared bankrupt. The firm has been sold to another accountancy firm, Allen Sykes and Co, which also has an office in Galgate.

Allen Sykes and Co is now acting for many of the clients Alder swindled.

David Stanwix, one of the partners, said yesterday: "Some people he cheated say they had known him for up to 30 years. They trusted him as a family friend and had no qualms at all about letting him invest their money. They are now absolutely devastated."

Since his arrest, his house in Eggleston, where he lived with wife Judy, has been sold.

He is known to have spent a lot of money improving the house. But a man who knew him well said: "That was no great surprise as he was thought to be well-off as a skilful accountant. He always lived fairly quietly."

The prosecution case was stated at the crown court by Robert Terry. Alder pleaded not guilty to one charge of procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception and this did not go ahead