A serial conman who masqueraded as a doctor and a vet to carry out a string of frauds has been jailed for two years.

Russell Oakes, 43, tricked dozens of trusting people over three years into believing he was both a trained GP and a qualified vet to con them out of thousands of pounds.

His web of lies meant he was paid to carry out a near-fatal castration of a pony, diagnose a five-year-old child with serious, non-existent allergies and even conduct an internal examination on a 17-year-old girl.

Jailing him, Judge David Swift said, “These people trusted you, they relied on you. They were all misled by your deliberate deception.

"You purported to be a professional, qualified person, people entrusted their animals and, in some instance, themselves to you."

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Oakes's scam started more than four years ago when he was working legitimately as an osteopath.

Henry Riding, prosecuting, told how Oakes began to tell his customers he was a trained GP, but had chosen to go into alternative medicine !rather than sit behind a desk".

"He was not and never has been registered with the General Medical Council as a doctor. He was not entitled to practise or pass himself off as a medical doctor," said Mr Riding.

One patient who was tricked was Sally Greenwood, the owner of a reputable equine centre in Formby, whom he persuaded he was going to train to become a vet.

Mr Riding told how the trickster even went through the pretence of going to university and taking exams to maintain his lies.

After "graduating" from his course, Ms Greenwood allowed him to set up a clinic at her Warren Farm centre, where he treated her own animals and those using her stables.

His lies were maintained with fake degrees and references he had bought on-line to secure registration with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).

It was from the Warren Farm equine centre that he carried out bogus work, such as giving flu and tetanus vaccinations to the horses and even treating a dog and some hens.

But his frauds eventually came to light after equine centre regular Tina Greenwood asked Oakes to castrate two of her ponies.

Oakes's botched job on four-year-old Roo almost proved fatal and the Welsh pony only survived after genuine vet Seamus Miller was called in to save his life.

Mr Riding told how Mr Miller was already suspicious of Oakes' work and he turned detective by contacting the RCVS.

They initially confirmed he was registered, but when Mr Miller asked them to check his documentation they discovered his certificate was bogus.

Mr Riding told how it was only after Oakes arrest that a 17-year-old woman came forward revealing Oakes had carried out an intimate examination of her under his guise as a doctor after she fell from her horse.

An investigation revealed Oakes had carried out a string of work pretending to be a doctor, including ordering unnecessary blood tests and diagnosing a five-year-old boy with a non-existent allergy. The child lost more than a stone in weight in a year and had to go to hospital.

Inquiries also revealed how Oakes had appealed against speeding tickets for himself and his partner Joanne Conroy by claiming medical emergencies.

Oakes, of Shore Road, Hesketh Bank, near Southport, pleaded guilty to 41 counts, four of obtaining services by deception, one of forgery, one of using a false instrument, 33 counts of fraud and two of perverting the course of justice.

Defence barrister, Christopher Stables, said Oakes, who used to lecture osteopathy at Oxford Brookes university, had been motivated by his "desire to help alleviate pain for animals and their owners".

By Lynda Roughley