SHAMED North Yorkshire coroner Jeremy Cave is recovering in hospital after suffering a heart attack days after he was jailed for swindling £155,000 from the estates of dead clients.

The solicitor, who faces a Law Society disciplinary hearing next month, was jailed for three-and-a-half years after a jury convicted him of stealing cash from clients' estates over a period of ten years.

The 53-year-old was rushed to hospital last Tuesday night after suffering a heart attack in his cell at Holme House Prison, Teesside. He was transferred to the James Cook Hospital, Middlesborough, at the weekend where he is said to be comfortable.

Friends said they believed the attack was brought on by the stress of the lengthy trial and the shock of being sent to prison.

Cave, a father-of-two, had been suffering from sight problems during his nine-week trial, again believed to be caused by stress.

Only hours after Cave, of Front Street, Sowerby, near Thirsk, was convicted the Law Society said it was planning to take civil action against him. It had been forced to repay cash to the plundered estates.

He will face disciplinary proceedings by the Society in London on March 27. A spokesman said: "Any result other than striking off will be unacceptable to us."

Cave's solicitor Peter Boddy, who runs his own practice in Darlington, had been due to meet Cave to discuss the possibility of appeal proceedings.

He said: "I hope he has a speedy recovery. I could not have gone through what he has gone through in the last three years."

Solicitor friend Simon Crosfield said: "I am very distressed to hear about Jeremy. I always found him a straightforward and honest man and the fact he has been convicted doesn't change my view."

Terry Brinlow, who has known Cave for more than 20 years, said: "Jeremy is not a villain, he has just been very stupid. He is such a likeable character. But when I last saw him he was like a different person because he was so stressed out by the trial."