A FORMER business leader who once spearheaded a community's crime-fighting drive stood disgraced last week when he was convicted of forgery.

Peter John MacGregor, 64, admitted ten charges of forging insurance certificates on his home computer, which were then used by taxi drivers.

Chester-le-Street magistrates were told the taxi drivers had no reason to question the authenticity of the documents because MacGregor was well known in the trade.

Ian Walker, prosecuting, described how the scam had been uncovered when one of the drivers to whom MacGregor had leased a car was stopped by police and asked to produce documents.

The insurance certificate from Octavia of Lloyds was found to be a forgery and the trail led to the MacGregor's home in Ouston, near Chester-le-Street.

Police confiscated his computer and several similar insurance certificates. Mr Walker said MacGregor, who co-operated fully with the investigation, had been legitimately insured by Octavia.

He had scanned the original document into his computer and made changes to dates and names, before producing copies.

One taxi firm bought insurance off MacGregor for £210 a week for a year.

Ian Lawson, defending, said MacGregor had formed a company to hire out taxis after he was forced to give up full-time work in 1998 because of ill health.

The leasing covered a loan for several vehicles and when the firm fell on difficult times one of the first of things he 'let go' was insurance.

The court was told MacGregor had served in the Army, but left when he was wounded while serving in Northern Ireland in 1967.

He went on to serve as chairman of the Birtley and Chester-le-Street chambers of trade and as chairman of Chester-le-Street's crime prevention panel, where he had overseen the installation of security cameras in the town.

Mr Lawson said: "He is a pillar of the community and because of that he is deeply ashamed of what he has done."

Magistrates, who are limited to imposing a six-month prison sentence and a £1,000 fine, said they did not feel they had sufficient sentencing powers for the case and committed it to Durham Crown Court.