This is the boss of a bootlegging gang who sold 4.8 million litres of illicit fuel to unsuspecting motorists.

Bentley-driving Darren Chapman, of Rochester, and brother Dean mixed kerosene with diesel and sold it from their petrol station to motorists and haulage companies across the south east.

The fraud saw the Chapmans avoid £3.5 million of tax, while the fuel caused £70,000 of damage to vehicles.

Now, following a trial at Wood Green Crown Court, Darren, 50, has been found guilty of evading excise duty and VAT and fraudulent trading and is beginning an eight-year-and-two-month prison sentence.

Dean, 43, from Romford, Essex, received four-and-a-half years for avoiding VAT and fraudulent trading.

Between 2012 and 2013 the Chapmans operated from a petrol station in Pulborough, West Sussex.

During a routine visit HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers found quantities of kerosene, which is not approved for road use, in underground containers and the fuel tanks of two vehicles.

Investigators then traced the liquid to 56-year-old Christopher Reardon, from Hastings, who had falsified 679 sales invoices to hide the true identity of his customers in an attempt to disguise the scheme.

He received a four-year term for evading VAT and excise duty.

Despite HMRC’s intervention and the investigation by Trading Standards, the gang continued to carry out the fraud, switching from kerosene to biodiesel.

They used fuel supplied by Carole O’Hara, 68, and Peter O’Hara, 72, both from Hastings, who falsified invoices to avoid tax.

The illicit mix was never properly labelled resulting in a number of drivers experiencing engine trouble.

For their part in the fraud the O’Haras were sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £40,000 each in costs.

On sentencing, His Honour Judge Lucas said: “It was a deliberate, gross and continued trick on the general public.”

Darren Chapman was described by the judge as "dishonest and prepared to break the law when it suits you," while brother Dean "took to dishonesty with enthusiasm."

Reardon worked "hand in glove with Chapman and others to perpetrate the fraud."

The O’Haras were described as "deliberate and calculating."

Richard Wilkinson, assistant director of the Fraud Investigation Service, said: “The gang knew what they were doing was wrong but even after being challenged they continued to flout the law."

Richard Sargeant, West Sussex Trading Standards Team Manager, added: “This was an incredibly serious matter which caused huge inconvenience to customers as well as repair costs totalling more than £70,000.

“While it cannot take away from the frustration suffered by customers, I hope the outcome of this case will act as a deterrent.”

To read more of our in depth coverage of all of the major trials coming out of crown and magistrates' courts across the county, click here.

For information on how we can report on court proceedings, click here.