Fraud magistrate gets 18 months

Balbir Sandu pleaded guilty to fraud at an earlier hearing

A magistrate has been jailed for 18 months after admitting telling a contact he could delay his court case in return for a £50,000 payment.

Balbir Sandu, 63, who had been a lay Wolverhampton magistrate, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court after pleading guilty to the fraud charge.

The court heard Sandu, of Merridale Road, Wolverhampton, later dropped the fee for his contact to £40,000.

Sandu told police when he was arrested the offer was intended as a prank.

The court heard how Sandu's acquaintance had become concerned and called police following their conversations, which happened between 14 January and 14 March last year.

Sandu pleaded guilty to fraud at a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court in January.