A YOUNG man from Ellesmere Port has been warned he faces a potential jail term after he pleaded guilty to defrauding his victim out of more than £2,000.

Fraser Parry, 21, of Winchester Avenue, pleaded guilty at Chester Magistrates Court on Monday, March 4 to fraud by taking out a credit card the victim's name, defrauding him out of £2,010.42.

Prosecuting, Kerry Pepperell told the court Parry had bought a vehicle from the victim and during the course of the transaction it was established the victim was moving address soon.

Parry then applied for a credit card using the address the victim had moved out of, and using Mr Wilkinson's personal details, then arranged to go to that address to collect the card.

Eventually, the landlady at the address received correspondence in relation to the credit card addressed to the victim, and he was made aware of the credit card fraud.

Parry had one previous conviction for travelling on the railway without paying a fare.

The court heard the starting point of sentencing for such an offence was 36 weeks in prison.

Stephen Ferns, defending, said Parry made full admissions in interview, with much of the police evidence for the offence coming from Parry himself.

He said it was "only a matter of time" before the offence came to light.

Mr Ferns added: "He had been the victim of a nasty stabbing and has scarring from that to his arms and torso. This left him with anxiety.

The court heard Parry was, due to family circumstances, under financial pressure at the time of the offence and made the "foolish decision" to commit the fraud.

Mr Ferns added Parry now had no debts, was not under pressure financially, and was now studying at the Open University.

The fraud was "out of character".

Magistrates adjourned the case until April 4 for a pre-sentence report to be compiled and Parry was bailed unconditionally.

The court also heard Sainsbury's Bank - the provider of the credit card - was awaiting the outcome of the case before taking any action.