A COMPANY executive who massaged business income figures, committed the offences while "drowning in an ocean of pressure and stress" Teesside Crown Court heard yesterday.

Chartered surveyor Jeffrey Bell, 44, of Lynes Drive, Langley Moor, near Durham, was fined £4,500 after pleading guilty to five counts of furnishing false information.

Eight further charges were dropped when the prosecution offered no evidence.

Barrister Christopher Attwooll told the hearing how Bell had been head of the rating department at Storey Sons and Parker Chartered Surveyors.

The gross incomes of companies were one of the factors taken into account in setting business rates.

As part of his responsibilities, Mr Bell dealt with hotels, pubs and clubs, furnishing information to the Valuation Agency for rating assessments.

Investigations had revealed how Bell had given false infor-mation to valuation officers by reducing the gross annual turnovers of five premises, including the Hydro Hotel, in Redcar, the Ullswater and Brotherswater Hotels in the Lake District, the Ship Inn, in High Heseldon, County Dur-ham, and the Hardwick Hall Manor Hotel at Blackhall.

The false figures resulted in a loss of revenue of £27,000.

Disputing the figure, defence counsel Eric Elliott said Bell had done nothing more than attempt to short-circuit the protracted assessment procedures, producing "the right results by the wrong means."

He described how following the introduction of new valuation legislation, Storey Sons and Parker had correctly leafleted thousands of companies offering their services.

This had resulted in the company securing 15,000 new clients and massively increasing Bell's workload.

Storey Sons and Parker had promoted Bell to the position of non-executive director but in truth, Mr Elliott claimed, he was nothing more than a company workhorse.

Through his drive, enthusiasm and ability Bell found himself "drowning in an ocean of pressure and stress" and had to seek medical help, said Mr Elliott.

Judge George Moorhouse fining Bell a total of £4,500, told him that in his position as a professional he had breached the trust put in him.

He accepted, however, that he had not received any personal gain by his actions.

After the hearing, Bell, who has set up his own company, said he was "glad it was all over".

John Irwin, a director of Storey Sons and Parker, said: "We have supported the Inland Revenue action against Mr Bell and we are satisfied that the case has been properly brought and the outcome is fair and just."