A SERIAL conman delayed a train for hours and forced Virgin bosses to put him up in a hotel for three nights after he fooled them into believing he was a barrister in the Lockerbie bombing trial, a court heard yesterday.

He had claimed that vital papers in the case had been stolen from a carriage, Newcastle Crown Court was told.

Paul Bint pulled the stunt after stealing barrister's robes from Birmingham Crown Court and boarding a train from the city bound for Glasgow, said Paul Caulfield, prosecuting.

Bint has already served a total of ten years behind bars after staging a string of elaborate cons stretching back almost 20 years. During his bizarre "Walter-Mitty" life he:

l Began a fake medical career at the age of 14. He later performed surgery on a stabbing victim, and arranged x-rays;

l Whispered "Trust me I'm a doctor" as he slipped his hand into an unsuspecting female patient's top.

l Obtained a Rolls Royce and pretended to be a brain surgeon;

l Posed as the Earl of Arundel to obtain an £84,000 Ferrari.

During Bint's train journey north, in January, he told staff he was a junior counsel in the Lockerbie trial, said Mr Caulfield. He said he thought his case papers and lap top computer had been stolen, and the train was stopped while a search was made.

The delay was so long that all the passengers were taken the remainder of their journey by taxi and Bint was put up in a hotel costing £545.

Bint, also known as Lakland Yates, who is in his 30s and of no fixed address, admitted stealing a barrister's wig and gown.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of deception in which he managed to obtain three nights in a hotel, but denied claiming he was a Lockerbie trial barrister.

He admitted making off without paying for food and drink costing £40. And he pleaded guilty to posing as a doctor to obtain a free taxi ride to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.

Other charges, which Bint denied, were left on the file. They included claiming he was an investment banker to obtain medical treatment at a Bupa hospital, and the theft of a £900 lap top computer.

Judge William Crawford remanded Bint in custody for pre-sentence reports.