NOTORIOUS eBay fraudster Phillip Shortman submitted false documents during a court hearing earlier this year, in an "act of desperation" to try to avoid prison, a judge was told.

The 28-year-old, facing sentence at Newport Crown Court last April for a string of fraud offences involving the sale of bogus mobile phones and fake car parts, submitted, through his barrister, paperwork purporting to show he had worked as a telecoms engineer for a firm called Cass since December 2014.

Prosecuting counsel John Warren said these documents included what were subsequently found to be false statements detailing payments and deductions, and bogus bank statements showing payments from Cass.

The judge at the time, Recorder John Jenkins QC, "was asked that Mr Shortman not be given a jail sentence, or he would lose his job," said Mr Warren.

A Crown Prosecution Service check subsequently found the documents were false and Cass confirmed that Shortman, of Hillside, Abersychan, had never worked for the company.

He had also told the Probation Service he had worked for Cass since December 2014.

The documents failed anyway to save Shortman from a two-year prison sentence last April, and on Friday, in the same court, he received from Judge Daniel Williams an eight-month jail term, to run consecutively, having earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of perverting the course of justice.

Judge Williams also sentenced Shortman to a further consecutive prison sentence of 10 months on a charge of fraud to which he also pleaded guilty.

This related to Shortman securing a job with Next Generation Integrated Services from September-December last year, having made false representations in e-mails.

Calling himself Phillip Ian Price, he produced a false driving licence, stated he had no previous convictions, and claimed he had served with Queen's Dragoon Guards, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The company subsequently confirmed that if it had known of Shortman's true background, it would not have employed him.

Shortman now has 87 convictions stretching back more than a decade, including 68 for fraud of various types.

These include, most recently, selling bogus mobile phone handsets on eBay an account using his five-year-old son's name, and fake car parts, while he was on bail.

Among his victims was a police office who subsequently helped fraud officers investigating the conman.

Married dad-of-three Shortman, of Abersychan, Pontypool, had already made £100,000 from scams including flogging fake goods on eBay and tickets to rugby matches.

Defence counsel Edward Mitchard said Shortman is "somewhat of a Walter Mitty-type character."

"He had become unemployable in his true identity because of his record," said Mr Mitchard.

"He was desperate. He was trying to get into work to further his CV."

Of the offence of perverting the course of justice, Mr Mitchard said it had been an "act of desperation."

"He was clutching at straws to try to prevent himself going into prison again."