A businessman from East Kilbride has been jailed for stealing £49,000 in a 14-year tax fraud.

Ronald Bradley failed to pay the correct Income Tax and National Insurance contributions for his firm, Bradley Water Hygiene.

He was sentenced to 11 months in jail today at the Hamilton Sheriff Court.

An HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigation found the 58-year-old did not submit Self Assessment tax returns between 2000 and 2012 and then under-declared his earnings between 2012 and 2014 in order to evade paying tax.

READ MORE: Rutherglen woman Gillian Dunn guilty of benefits fraud

Officers also revealed that Bradley had charged customers £25,000 of VAT - despite not being entitled to do so - and then failed to pay it to HMRC.

An HMRC spokesperson said: “Bradley failed to declare his earnings for 12 years and when he did, he lied about the amount of income he received.

“Alongside his VAT fraud, Bradley showed blatant disregard for his tax obligations and stole money that funds the vital public services we all use.

READ MORE: Glasgow man Richard Cusick jailed for £190K tax fraud

“If you know anyone who is committing tax fraud, you can report them online or by calling our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”