A serial ticket tour who sold Premier League tickets for twenty times their face value has been put behind bars.

Six weeks after being released from a nine month sentence for illegally reselling matchday entry through his firm City Ticket Service, David Spanton set up Click for Tickets with his partner Jane Clapton.

With the company based at Spanton's home at Hawsted, Buckhurst Hill, the 48 year-old ignored his Serious Crime Prevention Order and director disqualification order and adopted the pseudonym David Brooks.

The pair harvested large quantities of memberships at Premier League clubs, including Arsenal and West Ham, in order to buy multiple tickets for games, which were then sent to mailboxes and virtual offices in central London.

These tickets were sold on for up to twenty times the face value, often to tourists and businessmen from overseas.

Some never received their tickets or were unable to use them to get into grounds.

Detective sergeant Rob Tickle, of the Met's Organised Crime Command, said: "David Spanton is a ticket tout who has been involved in that industry for a long time. His offending goes back to the 1998 World Cup.

"For the first time Spanton has admitted that he is what many have suspected he was for a long time; a dishonest man and a fraudster. He sought to deceive Companies House, merchant service providers and Premier League clubs and lied to all to try to get what he wanted.

"Spanton has shown a complete disregard for court orders and has refused to change his behaviour.

"Within three months of leaving prison in 2016, he deliberately set up Click for Tickets as a bogus ticket agency to act as a front through his partner Jane Clapton who helped him."

The Met began an investigation into Spanton in January 2017.

When police raided his home on March 14 they found mobile telephones and laptops as well as ticket invoices, bank statements, telephone bill records, membership cards for a number of Premier League clubs and a quantity of cash.

It later came to light that Spanton was connected on Whatsapp to ticket touts across the country.

The total value of Spanton's fraud was £3,600.

The majority of the ticket sales were stopped or the victims reimbursed by their credit card providers.

Det Ser Tickle added: "As the result of good detective work Spanton and Clapton were caught at an early stage.

"Spanton will now spend a lengthy time in prison and will be unable to engage in similar offending for a significant period of time."

Spanton and Clapton were arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation at their home address in Forest Gate on 14 March 2017.

Jane Clapton, 44, of Hawsted, Buckhurst Hill, pleaded guilty to one count of encouraging or assisting an offender.

She was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

Spanton pleaded guilty and was jailed at Snaresbrook Crown Court on June 8 for three years.

A new SCPO was made, which prevents Spanton from being involved in the ticketing business and extends his director disqualification for a further 15 years.