CONMAN car dealer Michael Fear could have left a trail of victims in his wake, say police.

The 51-year-old Aylburton salesman was given a six-month suspended jail sentence after admitting five counts of fraud and one of theft.

But police believe there could be other victims who lost out after buying a car or motocross bike from him through eBay or trade magazines.

Police say Fear, of Lower Common, Aylburton misled customers over the condition of advertised vehicles.

His victims were left thousands of pounds out of pocket.

Police joined forces with Trading Standards in 2008 after complaints from across the country.

Fear originally maintained his innocence but changed his plea to guilty at the last minute.

He appeared at Swindon Crown Court to be sentenced for a string of offences dating back to 2008.

They included taking nearly £2,000 from Linda Rhead, 57, from Drybrook for an MGF convertible that turned out to be unroadworthy.

Despite Fear agreeing to do some work before it was delivered, a specialist MG garage told her it needed at least £600 worth of work to pass the test.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire Constabulary said: "We're sure there are many more victims of Michael Fear out there who haven't contacted the police.

"If people have these issues then they do need to report it to police, that is the only way we can work out if it's a criminal matter, a civil one or something that can be passed on to Trading Standards. It's happened up and down the country so we need people to get in touch."

On top of his sentence Fear was told to complete 100 hours unpaid work and a supervision order.