A FORMER company director must hand over £40,000 or go to jail because he worked illegally in the security business for three years.

At an assets confiscation hearing, York Crown Court heard Christopher Downes benefited by £40,000 by his crime.

He was ordered to pay it back within six months or go to jail for 18 months.

In February, the same court heard that the 54-year-old of Wetherby Road, Acomb, held a door supervisor's licence which lapsed in 2017.

But he continued to be part of the security industry because he was a director of F1 Security Services and therefore still needed a licence. By not having a licence, he was working illegally.

Nathan Salmon, the SIA's Criminal Investigations Manager, said: "Downes profited significantly from working illegally in the private security industry. His actions demonstrated that he was not fit and proper to work in the industry.

"The court order will help to redress the imbalance that operating illegally has on the private security market. The confiscation demonstrates that crime does not pay. Downes has a criminal record and a significant financial penalty to pay."