A rogue trader and handler of stolen goods who amassed a £56,000 fortune while illegally pocketing benefits has been jailed for five years after a two-year-long investigation.

David Martin, 61, was well known to Bradford criminals as being a professional “fence”, the city’s Crown Court heard.

Fooling the authorities into believing he could hardly walk, Martin was also busy counterfeiting DVDs and travelling to the continent to trade in tobacco.

As he was jailed yesterday, Martin, of Parsonage Road, Laisterdyke, Bradford, was branded “a dyed-in-the-wool criminal” by Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC.

Martin pleaded guilty to benefit fraud, handling stolen goods, selling counterfeit DVDs, possessing a computer hard drive for use in fraud and possessing money as criminal property.

A neighbour spoke of him as generous and helpful but Judge Durham Hall said he probably did not know Martin had bought a laptop burgled from another neighbour.

Prosecutor Gerald Hendron said Martin dishonestly claimed £23,331 in Income Support and Disability Living Allowance between 2002 and 2008. He did not reveal he had savings and stated he could hardly walk and was unable to make a meal or dress himself.

Martin was paid £3,000 for casual work as a delivery driver in 2007, loading the truck by hand and even replacing doors at the premises after a burglary, Mr Hendron said.

On February 27, 2008, Martin’s home was searched. The burgled laptop was found, along with DVDs to burn copies from and £12,000 in Sterling and Euros that Martin admitted was from his criminal activities. A further £44,663 was seized from his three bank accounts.

Mr Hendron said Martin was well known to criminals in the area for “fencing” goods from his back door to sell at car boot sales.

He sold copied DVDs in pubs and travelled to Spain, Brussels and Tenerife to bring back tobacco to sell.

After the case Detective Inspector Ian Bryar said Martin was convicted following a two-year, multi-agency investigation. He said: “Martin is now paying the price, however, it doesn’t stop there.

“West Yorkshire Police are in the process of seizing assets from him, including cash and his home address in the Laisterdyke area of Bradford.

“This should act as a warning to other criminals. Martin is a negative role model who was acting as a receiver. This encouraged local youths to commit crime and set a bad example to youths in the area.”