The trial of a Torquay man accused of an internet auction site fraud conspiracy was brought to an abrupt halt yesterday after one of the key witnesses left the area.Alisdair Noon, 20, of Lummaton Cross, Torquay, has denied the charge of conspiracy to defraud but his trial at Exeter Crown Court had been held up for two and a half days.

Yesterday, Judge Philip Wassall told the jury he had contemplated ordering the mid-air flight from Exeter to Belfast to turn back after witness Kevin Morgan got fed up waiting and left the city.

Judge Wassell said: “One of the options was to turn the plane round and bring the witness back.

“While that had certain attractions, as far as I was concerned I had to consider the publicity and the inconvenience of other passengers.”

The case surrounds a conspiracy to defraud buyers on internet site eBay by advertising relatively low value goods and then cashing cheques sent in payment without ever sending the buyers the goods.

Two other men, 39-year-old Paul Kelly, of Clifton Road, Paignton, and 29-year-old Ricky Worden, of Springfield Road, Belfast, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud between July and October 2005 by advertising DVDs, computer games and perfumes on eBay. They will be sentenced in December.

Telling the crown court jury that because the witness had left the country he would have to adjourn the trial, Judge Wassall said: “I hope that you have not got the impression it is always like this because it isn’t.

For the Crown, Martin Kenny said that witness Kevin Morgan, the eBay employee, was aware that he was meant to give evidence and had been in Exeter since Sunday.

Yesterday morning he decided to take a flight from Exeter to Ireland.

“By the time we knew that, he was already airborne and we cannot conduct the case without him.

“The trial has effectively been torpedoed by his leaving the country,” said Mr Kenny.

“I would have thought eBay would have been keen to give evidence to allow the court to get to the bottom of this case.

“The officer in the case should let the eBay team in Ireland know what has happened,” said Judge Wassall.

In the meantime, a witness summons has been issued for Mr Morgan and Judge Wassall said he would also consider a wasted costs order.
www.heraldexpress.co.uk

Posted: 10|26|07 at 9:46 am. Filed under: UK News.