13 July 2021

Fraudster fails in bid to be moved to prison in Spain

13 July 2021

A serial fraudster jailed after defrauding an ex-girlfriend out of £300,000 has failed in a bid to be transferred to a foreign prison.

Mark Acklom, who is in his late 40s, was jailed for five years and eight months by a judge at Bristol Crown Court in August 2019 after admitting fraud.

He had taken legal action against the HM Prison and Probation Service after asking to be moved to a prison in Spain, where he had relatives.

Acklom said keeping him in a British jail was a breach of his human right to respect for family life.

Prison bars (Andrew Parsons/PA) (PA Archive)

But Judge Milwyn Jarman, who is based at the Cardiff Civil Justice Centre, on Tuesday dismissed his claim, and refused to approve a move to Spain, after an online hearing.

Acklom was jailed after a judge at Bristol Crown Court heard how he duped Carolyn Woods into lending him her life savings by pretending they were in a “committed relationship” and promised to marry her despite still living with his wife.

Ms Woods, who is in her 60s, had told Bristol Crown Court how Acklom, who posed as a Swiss banker and MI6 agent, “destroyed” her life after he skipped the country and left her penniless, having used her money to fund a lavish lifestyle.

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