A crime couple from Bromley have lost their family home after being ordered to pay almost half a million pounds earned from drug dealing and benefit fraud.

Matthew Harrod, 43, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in February 2014 after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of drugs.

His wife Fiona Kelly, 45, was given an 18-month sentence suspended for two years and ordered to do 140 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to benefit fraud totalling £60,000 and money laundering.

Over two years since their conviction, a judge at Kingston Crown Court made proceeds of crime act confiscation orders last Thursday, forcing the couple to repay £490, 667.

The orders included £362,000 left over from the sale of their former home in Hayes Lane, as well as £107,000 from bank accounts, a car and £3,500 cash which was seized from the flat where Harrod was arrested.

Officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) carried out a financial investigation to identify the profits the couple made from their criminal activities, taking out restraint orders for assets such as bank accounts and their luxury home.

NCA branch commander Oliver Higgins said: “Harrod and his wife made hundreds of thousands of pounds from their criminality and were able to enjoy a lavish lifestyle as a result.

“The NCA will use all its powers to pursue not just the criminals themselves but the money they make from their offending.”