A HUSBAND and wife from Suffolk have been ordered to pay more than £19,000 after a court heard they sold a useless horse lorry.The couple must shell out £19,050 after being found guilty of making false claims about the lorry following a complaint from an Ipswich woman who bought it, but claimed there were problems over the its weight.

A HUSBAND and wife from Suffolk have been ordered to pay more than £19,000 after a court heard they sold a useless horse lorry.

The couple must shell out £19,050 after being found guilty of making false claims about the lorry following a complaint from an Ipswich woman who bought it, but claimed there were problems over the its weight.

Magistrates in Bury heard how the couple made false claims about the number of horses the vehicle could.

The vehicle could legally only carry the weight equivalent of one small horse, rather than three large horses as the couple had claimed.

Wendy Guillambert, of Heasman Close, Newmarket, was found guilty of two charges under the Trade Description Act and fined £3,000.

Jean Luc Guillambert, 56, of the same address, was found guilty of three offences under the same act and fined £4,500.

The couple were also ordered to pay £1,950 in compensation to the person who bought the vehicle, as well as £9,500 toward prosecution costs.

The Guillamberts advertised the lorry in the Horse and Hound publication stating it could carry three large horses.

Jean Luc Guillambert repeated this lie when talking to undercover officers posing as potential buyers and the couple both sold the vehicle knowing the claim to be untrue.

An MOT in February 2006 revealed that the vehicle was almost at its legal weight limit even before a horse was put inside.

Jill Korwin, assistant county trading standards officer, said: “It is important that people understand the seriousness of making this type of misleading claim.

“Not only did this couple make a profit by selling something which was not fit for the required purpose, it also could have put other road users at risk.

“If a vehicle carries more weight that it is designed to do the braking is affected.

“Magistrates have clearly recognised the seriousness of these offences and have imposed appropriate punishments.”

Have you been sold something which turned out to be dodgy? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.