Holiday conman declared bankrupt

Palmer is reputed to be worth £300m

Bath fraudster John Palmer has been declared bankrupt with debts of £3.9m.

Hundreds of creditors brought the action against Palmer who was jailed for eight years in 2001 for conspiracy to defraud people.

Palmer, 55, from Battlefields, Bath, conned 16,000 people into paying £30m for shares in Tenerife holiday homes which they never received.

The judgment debt represents only a small fraction of Palmer's reputed £300m total wealth.

After Friday's hearing, solicitor Jonathan Wheeler said Palmer would also be liable for legal costs in the region of £1.5m.

Last year Palmer, also known as Goldfinger, was ordered to pay more than £3m to his victims.

The bankruptcy order was not opposed by Palmer's lawyers.