A MAN living in a street called Hustler Road has been jailed for scamming some of the world's biggest gaming companies.

Stephen Parry, 49, admitted ten offences involving companies including Nintendo and Microsoft.

He sold devices and flashcards allowing people to bypass security technology to play unlicensed games on consoles including Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox.

He has been sentenced to two years and three months.

Parry's illegal activities were investigated by East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Trading Standards team, after a test purchase of an R4i SDHC flashcard that illegally displayed the Nintendo trademark.

Investigators then found Parry was operating two websites – 360upgrades and flashmybox - offering services and products to gamers across the world, some legal but some illegal.

A council spokesman said Parry, of Hustler Road in Bridlington, was sentenced at Hull Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to ten offences relating to the importation, sale, advertising and possession of devices and services that facilitated a breach of technical measures under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, a trademark offence and money laundering.

Paul Bellotti, head of housing, transport and public protection at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “This has been a particularly complex and time consuming case for the council’s trading standards officers so we are pleased it has ended with a prison sentence.

“His activities were deliberately designed to undermine the legitimate sellers of computer games from the large producers to the small scale retailers.

“I am pleased the court has chosen to send out a clear message that the protection of these small and medium enterprises that employ large numbers of people is paramount.”