A SELF-STYLED U-boat commander, whose unique vessel was a regular sight on the Leeds/Liverpool canal, has been jailed for a £1million fraud.

Richard Williams, 54, set up bogus businesses and conned the taxman into paying him huge sums, which he used to fund an eccentric lifestyle.

Williams made headlines four years ago when he moored his U-boat close to the Botany Bay attraction, near Chorley.

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It came complete with a turret, periscope, torpedo bay and ‘stealth’ paintwork.

At the time Williams told the Lancashire Telegraph that the converted narrowboat, had been created as a 50th birthday present to himself at a cost of £50,000.

He subsequently toured inland waterways in East Lancashire and Merseyside and offered tours of the vessel.

Last week, Manchester Crown Court heard he used false businesses to defraud the VAT refund system of £1,017,505.

His barrister Dominic Thomas said he had squandered the rest of the money on an extravagant lifestyle.

Williams’ real name is Steven Howarth, but he stole the identity of a Richard Williams, using his date of birth and national insurance number to change his name.

Williams’ partner, Laurel Howarth, 28, helped him in the scam, admitting her involvement.

The pair ran appeared to run specialist bed companies Sleepability.co.uk, Orthomatic, Adjustabed and Discount Mobility Store.

The were not making or selling anything, but invented invoices, defrauding VAT on goods he had not purchased.

Williams, from Blackpool, was jailed for 56 months after admitting fraud.

Howarth, 28, was imprisoned for 20 months.

Sandra Smith, assistant director, Criminal Investigation, HMRC, said: “Williams and Howarth thought they had evaded investigators. They couldn’t have been more wrong.

“The pair went to great lengths to try and cover their tracks.

“The sentences serve as a lesson to those who are tempted by the lure of fraud.”

Williams kitted out the inside of the ‘submarine’ with airlock doors, a periscope and 360 degree video monitors which enabled it to be steered from the inside.

There were also authentic sonar and radar systems, infra -red emergency lighting and storage for dummy torpedoes in the sleeping quarters.