A convicted fraudster who lived in Harvel, near Meopham, and made a fortune selling fake bomb detectors around the world has been ordered by a court to pay more than a million pounds.

Gary Bolton, 49, who now lives in Redshank Road, Chatham, Kent, was jailed in August 2013 for seven years over the sale of more than 1,000 useless detectors which he claimed could track down bombs, drugs, ivory and money.

During a confiscation hearing, prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse QC told the Old Bailey that Bolton had made some £6.8 million in today's money from his criminal activities but his assets were much lower.

Judge Richard Hone QC ordered that he pay £1,265,624.59 including more than £400,000 from the sale of his house, excluding five per cent of the proceeds owed to his partner Carly Wickens who attended court with Bolton's mother Grace Bolton.

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The defendant was given three months to pay the money - most of which lies in British or foreign bank accounts - or face a further seven years in jail.

Bolton had been found guilty of making an article for use in the course of fraud and supplying an article for use in the course of fraud between January 2007 and July 2012.

The trial heard that with no experience in science, research, training or security, Bolton had created a £3 million-per-year company selling the devices around the world for up to £10,000 each.

They were no more than cheaply made boxes with handles and antennae that he made at home and at the offices of his company in Ashford, Kent.

Bolton claimed that the devices worked with a range of 766 yards (700m) at ground level and as far as 2.5 miles (4km) in the air and said they were effective through lead-lined and metal walls, water, containers and earth.

But "double-blind" tests as early as 2001 showed they had a successful detection rate of 9%, with Bolton being sent the test results.

Bolton was one of a string of defendants to be convicted for their part in fake bomb detector scams.