A LEGAL firm in Darwen left its accounts in such a mess that claims totalling £353,000 had to be made to a compensation fund.

Partners Mark John Smith and Kathleen Wilson have now been fined £7,500, over the failings of GS Law, trading as Singleton Day, of Belgrave Square.

No fewer than 82 claims were made to the Solicitors Compensation Fund.

In one serious case a local couple in their mid-80s, looking to move from a home to a bungalow, saw a £232,000 cheque disappear and they had to be compensated.

Smith and Wilson were each barred from having any responsibility for client money or being law firm partners for three years, with £10,000 costs, after a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal misconduct hearing.

An investigation was first launched by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in November 2016, amid suspicions the firm had breached accounting rules.

The pair, who originally traded as Goddard Smith, took over DLC Solicitors in Darwen, previously known as Darwen Law.

Investigators from the SRA found details of client monies had not been disclosed by DLC to GS Law, one of their principals was still on the mandate for their accounts and online access to their financial records had been blocked to Smith and Wilson.

Unreconciled financial items totalling £421,000 were inherited by GS Law and there were a number of missing cheque stubs and client chits.

SRA officials also confirmed Goddard Smith had provided "substantial loans" to DLC over the same period , as it was barely generating enough money to pay staff wages.

In mitigation, the solicitors said they realised DLC's records were inaccurate in late 2013 and had employed accountants in a bid to resolve the issues.

The pair admitted they had been "naive"and apologised for any hardship caused to their clients.

They had lost their livelihoods, as a result of the case, and suffered anxiety and depression, they said.

Fining the pair, SDT panel chairman Edward Nally said: "The impact of the respondents' misconduct directly affected and caused harm to their clients and caused harm to the reputation of the legal profession."