Canterbury Crown Court, where Jones was sentenced

by Paul Hooper

A Folkestone haulier ran a business where he was a director – even though he was an undischarged bankrupt and was banned.

A company owned by Anthony Jones, 40, had gone bust six years ago – but he just ignored requests from the Official Receiver for meetings to deal with the issues.

Instead Jones, of Earls Avenue set up another business – despite being banned from being a director until his bankruptcy was discharged.

Jones has now been given an eight month jail sentence suspended for two years after admitting being a company director while an undischarged bankrupt.

His lover Wilma Diblicek, 37, of the same address, received a suspended four month sentence after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting.

Prosecutor Alex Dite told Canterbury Crown Court after the first business went bust in October 2006, Jones was told he could have no part in running any other limited company.

"he is a hard working man trying to make things work in a difficult commercial environment" – oliver saxby, qc

“During the course of that bankruptcy he was required to attend a meeting with the Official Receiver but failed to turn up. He also failed to attend a court hearing and so remain bankrupt.”

But three years later Jones bought another haulage company and started operating in Folkestone in February 2010 – taking goods around Europe.

Mr Dite said Jones’ company began arranging finance with another company which carried out financial checks and discovered his guilty secret.

It was then that his lover Diblicek suddenly became the company’s director only for her to resign in July 2010 to be replaced by Jones.

Mr Dite said Jones then failed to turn up for more meetings with the Official Receiver – and continued to sign financial agreements for his company.

“However in the summer of 2011 it ceased trading and in November it is wound up with a deficiency of £175,839, “ he added.

Oliver Saxby QC for Jones said: “He is a hard working man trying to make things work in a difficult commercial environment. He has never claimed benefits and has been working 15 or 16 hours a day, seven days a week in the haulage industry.”

John O’Higgins, for mother-of-two Diblicek, said the medical proof reader: “At the time just had not realised just how serious an offence it was.”

Judge Adele Williams also ordered Jones to do 150 hours of unpaid work and repay £500 costs and gave Diblicek a four month curfew order from 9 pm to 7am and also repay £250 costs.

She told Jones, who she banned from being a director for five years, that the need to restrict undischarged bankrupts from being directors was to “prevent other people being at risk by reckless trading”.

“Both of you acted in a thoroughly dishonest fashion, “ she added.