A BOSS of a holiday firm which conned people out of £1.5m by promising to bring a ray of sunshine into their lives before fleecing them has been jailed.

Worldwide Vacation Club lured potential buyers into high-pressure sales presentations and convinced them to hand over their savings.

But holidaymakers never received the luxury of free holidays every year for the rest of their lives, after parting with a one-off payment of £8,000.

David Holland, 39, a director of the Northumberland business, denied 23 charges of dishonesty. He was found guilty of 22 and not guilty of credit-brokering without a licence.

Holland, who returned to Newcastle Crown Court yesterday to receive his sentence, was sent to prison for nine months.

He was also disqualified from being a company director for eight years.

Holland was a partner in the business, based in Ashington, until it became a limited company, when he became a director along with Dawn Webb, 41, and Mitch Malone, 42.

Webb, of Cavendish Road, Bath, Somerset, received a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was disqualified from acting as a company director for five years.

She pleaded guilty to four charges of dishonesty.

Webb entered her pleas on the basis that she was initially employed as a marketing manager with the company, but dealt mainly with administrative duties, such as ordering stationery.

She became a director after the business became a limited company in December 1998.

However, she said that she had no authority and was not directly involved in decision-making.

Malone, of Wells, Somerset, failed to appear at court, and a warrant has been in force for his arrest since November last year.

It is believed that he has fled the country and is living abroad.