THOUSANDS of people left out of pocket after a mortgage broker was shut down were found to have been misled by the company yesterday.

The Department of Trade and Industry swooped on Century Mortgages in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, in October, casting scores of people out of work.

The move triggered complaints from the agents employed to sell mortgages across the country.

Between 3,000 and 4,000 people paid up to £4,000 for a training some claimed was inadequate, and the privilege of selling Century's so-called accelerator mortgages.

Yesterday, it became clear why the courts moved so swiftly.

Mr Justice Neuberger, sitting at the High Court in London, said he was satisfied it was in the public interest that both Century and sister company Mortgage Control Services should be wound up.

He said they had misled their sales team and customers.

Century used self-employed agents to sell its re-mortgage products, which promised to save homeowners' interest payments by speeding up the repayment of their mortgages.

The judge wound up Century on three grounds - its adverts exaggerated how much agents could earn, it failed to ensure they were properly trained, and it misled customers over the advantages of the product.

He pointed out how newspaper advertisements claimed agents could expect to earn between £25,000 and £50,000 a year.

"The evidence before the court suggested no one made as much as £50,000 a year," he said, backing up DTI criticisms that agents were encouraged to sell the product rather than explain it. He said one "lamentable expression" used in their training was "Sell the sizzle not the sausage if you want to be successful in selling the product".

In November, The Northern Echo revealed how Century's chairman, Richard Hodgson, had previously been jailed for fraud.

The former bosses were not available for comment last night.