John Mansfield, 59, who lived on Foxdale Boat appeared at Huntingdon Crown Court on Wednesday (October 30) and was ordered to pay £12,957.29.

On June 25 this year Mansfield pleaded guilty to obtaining a property by deception and using a false instrument in relation to the acquirement and sale of his dead mother's property in September 2006.

Mansfield forged a land registry transfer document so the property was transferred to him before he sold it.

He had sold his mother's house in Broad Leas, St Ives for £122,500 but had spent the majority of the proceeds, leaving just £12,957.29 which he will now be required to pay under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

On August 27 he was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment for his crimes.

Police are able to instigate confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act where it can be proved that an offender has benefited financially from their criminality.

The criminal benefit is assessed, and an amount for confiscation is ordered by the court.

If the offender fails to pay the confiscation amount, a prison sentence is imposed in default (the confiscation amount still has to be paied on their release).

The confiscated amount, once paid, goes to HM Courts Service and is divided between the Home Office, which gets half, and the courts, CPS, and the police, who get a sixth each.