A MAN has admitted posing as a vet and a qualified doctor to carry out a string of frauds.

Russell Oakes, 43, forged references and a fake degree from Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, to apply for membership of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Once he secured the paperwork, the bogus vet then tricked the owners of a respected Formby equine centre into allowing him to practise there, working with horses and riders.

At the same time, Oakes also established a clinic in Standish claiming to be a qualified doctor to treat a string of people. He used his fake status to defraud unsuspecting animal owners and patients into handing over a total of about £10,000.

Oakes, of Shore Road, Hesketh Bank, near Southport, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court when he admitted a total of 42 charges, including obtaining services by deception, obtaining property by deception, using a false instrument, forgery, fraud and perverting the course of justice. The charges date between July, 2005, and March, 2008.

The court heard, on one occasion, Oakes pretended to have a veterinary emergency to appeal against a speeding ticket.