Defendant's MS stops fraud trial

The court sat only in the morning to accommodate Mr MacIntyre

The jury in the trial of a Cornish man accused of defrauding people of nearly £750,000 has been discharged.

Truro Crown Court was told William MacIntyre, who has multiple sclerosis, was too ill for the case to continue.

The trial of the 53-year-old, from Penponds, near Camborne, was heard only in the mornings because of his illness.

Judge Paul Darlow discharged the jury when Mr MacIntyre became unwell. The Crown Prosecution Service said it would consider whether to seek a retrial.

The court had been told Mr MacIntyre, who uses a wheelchair, offered potential investors the chance to buy what was supposedly a highly profitable direct mail marketing firm.

But none of the 19 people who invested saw any return on their deposits and payments.

Mr MacIntyre denied 37 counts of fraud.