THE boss of an optician's firm, who used the names of dead patients in a £37,000 NHS swindle, has been jailed for 12 months.

Michael Hampton was not a qualified optician but he forged the names of professional optometrists who worked for his practice, Hampton Optical, Bromsgrove, to claim money.

Mr Hampton, 54, of Commonfield, Titton, pleaded guilty at Hereford Crown Court to 29 offences of false accounting and asked for 824 similar crimes to be taken into account.

Mr Hampton is well-known to Shuttle/Times & News readers as the founder of a memorial appeal which raised thousands of pounds for a Romanian orphanage.

He set up the Sunshine Appeal in memory of daughter Sarah, who died in a car crash last year.

Sir Andrew Watson, prosecuting, said the NHS began checks after claims for small spectacle frames rose from two to 140 per year. The investigation revealed not only had claims been submitted for dead people but Hampton forged the signatures of nursing staff at the two nursing homes in Bromsgrove.

Asked why he resorted to forgery, he said it was "just stupidity" and a bid to boost his business. He estimated he gained £15,000 over two years.

Nicolas Cartwright, defending, said Hampton was a hard-working family man who could be generous and selfless. He had been devastated by the death of his daughter.

There was no suggestion that he had set up the charity with a cynical motive because he did not know at the time he was being investigated.

Judge Alistair Macduff said it was one of the saddest cases he had come across. Hampton had made a mess of a hitherto blameless life and he ordered the seizure of £30,000 due to Hampton, held by the NHS.

The judge said he would decide in six months on a £7,349 confiscation order requested by the prosecution and also on an application of £20,272 for investigation and legal costs.

After the case, Jim Gee, director of counter fraud services for the Department of Health, said: "Our health service was founded on a principle of public trust and we cannot let that be undermined by exploitations."

Det Insp Ian Clarke, of West Mercia Police's economic crime unit, said: "We hope that this will serve as a warning to others."