A man was rushed to hospital moments before he was due to be sentenced for defrauding a shop out of five TVs.

Donald Stewart, 54, of Coates Avenue, Barnoldswick, was told at an earlier hearing that he could face a custodial sentence after admitting using cheques to pay for TVs at a store in Skipton, knowing they would bounce.

But he was taken to hospital after complaining of chest pains while magistrates in the town considered their sentence. He will now be sentenced on June 11.

Prosecuting, Caroline Midgley said Stewart bought four 50-inch plasma TVs and one 42-inch together worth £3,562. He had used cheques to pay for the TVs, which had then been returned.

On January 2, he had bought a 42-inch TV for £599 and had returned the next day saying he wanted to exchange it for a 50-inch, said Mrs Midgley. He said he would return the smaller set once the larger one was delivered, but failed to do so.

The court heard Stewart had carried out identical frauds against shops in Burnley.

When he committed the frauds in Skipton, he was already the subject of a suspended sentence imposed by Burnley magistrates and was on bail awaiting sentence.

Ismael Uddin, defending, said Stewart was in a cycle of poverty, ill-health and had no financial stability. His father had died early last year and his mother was in failing health.

Stewart, who was also banned from driving, had recently suffered two heart attacks and also felt the need to buy his four-year-old daughter presents for Christmas. He told police he had sold the TVs to a friend in Colne.