A 54-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed for four months after customs officials found hundreds of bootleg cigarettes stashed in his car.

Kidderminster magistrates locked up Colin Angell yesterday and ordered him to pay almost £8,000 in compensation after they heard he sold 62,400 cigarettes and 78kg of rolling tobacco over an 18-month period.

He also bought 15,500 cigarettes and 468 cans of beer for his own use, the court was told.

Customs officers found cigarettes and tobacco along with a cash book and papers relating to bootleg sales when they raided Angell's home at The Links, Oldnall Road, Kidderminster.

He led officers to 600 cigarettes and 4.1kg of rolling tobacco stashed in his car. He admitted he had sold on excise goods.

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Interviewed by customs officers, he said he had not brought from the Continent any of the goods in his house or sold by him.

Mark Powell, a spokesman for HM Customs & Excise, said Angell had been supplied by contacts in this country and knew he was breaking the law.

"Mr Angell has learnt the hard way that selling smuggled goods is viewed very seriously by the courts," Mr Powell said.

"He has lost the goods that he bought, will have to pay nearly £8,000 and has lost his liberty.

"The smuggling and sale of alcohol and tobacco costs us all billions of pounds each year that should be better spent on schools and hospitals."

Honest traders also paid a heavy price in lost jobs and lost sales, he said.

"Alcohol and tobacco fraud is no game, it's crime. And anyone involved will be treated with the full force of the law."