David Michael Godderidge, 40, from Tamworth, falsely applied for £13,000 from the Bounce Back Loan scheme which blew on gambling in just three weeks.

Godderidge applied for his own bankruptcy in October 2021 and declared himself as a self-employed roofer.

While assessing his assets to make payments to his creditors, the Official Receiver uncovered in September 2020 that he had provided incorrect information to obtain a Bounce Back Loan far greater than he was entitled to.

The self-employed roofer had instructed a third party to make the loan application on his behalf using inflated turnover figures before spending the £13,000 Bounce Back Loan on gambling in just three weeks.

Due to the risk he posed to other creditors, the Official Receiver sought to extend Godderidge’s bankruptcy restrictions. His bankruptcy undertaking extends his restrictions for seven years and means he is limited to what credit he can access, and he cannot act as a company director without the permission of the court.

Sue Macleod for the Insolvency Service, said: “Bounce Back Loans were made available for trading businesses adversely affected by the pandemic and were issued based on accurate financial statements.

“David Godderidge cynically applied for a loan far greater than he was entitled to and clearly thought he could get away it. Thankfully our interventions uncovered the abuse and restrictions will prevent him from abusing his position in the future.”