A MAN who owed £12,000 in unpaid child support but “chose not to pay” has been given a prison sentence.

The dad appeared before Bolton Magistrates Court yesterday, charged with failing to pay fees after an order was made against him in 2016.

The 45-year-old, from Farnworth, had not paid for three years and, in the years prior, only sporadically gave money to support his eight-year-old son.

He was handed a 42-day prison sentence suspended for two years but will only spend time in jail if he fails to pay a court ordered £500 a month to the mother of his child.

He told magistrates he was facing a substantial council tax bill after falling into arrears.

He initially offered to pay £300 a month but this was ultimately not enough.

He failed to bring evidence of his income to the hearing but explained that he had recently become self-employed and that his full financial details would not be available until his business had been trading for some time.

Mr Ilyas, who defended the father, claimed an error on witness statements handed in by the Child Support Agency should render them invalid.

However, magistrate Janet Greatbanks said: “As you can see we have carefully considered your case. We found there is culpable neglect over a substantial period of time.

"Your son is eight years of age and your parental responsibility in these circumstances has been non-existent. You have had the means to pay and you have chosen not to.”

Mrs Greatbanks explained to the father that failure to keep up with his payments will result in his prison sentence becoming active.

“We are going to suspend the sentence and the only reason for that is that you will actually pay for the upkeep of your son,” she said.

“We are are expecting £500 a month and you know what will happen if you don’t pay.

“It’s down to you not to let yourself down and not to let your son down more importantly.”