BOBBY Chris Sharp laid out £3,700 for his shiny silver Volvo - then discovered it had been 'clocked' by a dodgy dealer.

The crook had cut the mileage of the F-reg Volvo 760 by a staggering 200,000 miles, or EIGHT TIMES round the world.

Police sergeant Chris Sharp, of Wantage, thought it only had 129,000 miles on the clock when he bought it from Robert and Lynne Tull.

Yesterday the couple were fined £250 each after they admitted placing an advert in the Thames Valley Auto Trader with a false mileage reading.

They also admitted not making it reasonably clear they were dealers, rather than private sellers.

Wantage magistrates were told the Tulls, from Farnham in Surrey, placed 26 ads over 12 months up to March 1997.

Investigators later discovered it had previously been sold by a dealership in Reading for £1,005 with 320,000 miles on the clock.

Brian Yendole, prosecuting on behalf of Oxfordshire Trading Standards, told the court the Tulls denied changing the car's mileage, claiming they bought it from a private seller.

He added: "You will not be surprised to hear we have not managed to trace this person and I suggest it might be reasonable to conclude this person doesn't exist."

Speaking for himself and his wife, Tull - who now works as a car valeter - said: "I was unemployed at the time and sold a few cars from home. I didn't think I was doing anything wrong."

Mr Tull said they pleaded guilty because they had no way of proving they did not change the milage. They were ordered to pay £251.34 costs.

Mr Sharp, 36, received an out-of-court settlement of £820 from the Tulls last year .

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