A COURT has ordered a financial advisor, who swindled clients out of their savings, to hand over more than £150,000 within three months or face a further 12 months in prison.

In September last year 59-year-old Christopher Summers was jailed for six years after he conned his three victims, one of whom was elderly and had dementia, out of a total of £578,099 to fund his gambling addition.

At a proceeds of crime hearing, held at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, Judge Bernadette Baxter heard that Summers' home in Longsight Road, Ramsbottom, has now been sold and James Preece, prosecuting, stated that he had identifiable assets worth a total of £154,848.

Judge Baxter ordered him to hand the cash over, which will be used to help compensate Summers' victims.

At his earlier sentence hearing, the court heard that Summers had turned to drink and gambling after the death of his parents.

In order to pay his debt, the self-employed financial advisor duped two clients into lending him money, telling them it was for investments and, over a two-and a half year period, conned an 88-year-old woman with dementia into writing him 14 cheques, totalling almost £500,000.

Summers pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud.