Accountant Bruce Pritchett, jailed for six years in 2015, has been told he must cough up more than £300,000 or face a further four years in jail.

Pritchett, 61, of The Reddings, Cheltenham, cheated clients, the public and the tax authorities in a 'simply breathtaking' campaign of crime, the court was told when he was sentenced.

At a proceeds of crime hearing held at Gloucester crown court on Monday, the judge Recorder Michael Parroy QC heard that the prosecution and defence lawyers had come to agreements over Pritchett's available assets and the figure by which he benefited from crime.

Prosecutor Susan Cavender said the benefit to Pritchett had been £306,938.37 and his available assets were £381,554 - more than enough to repay in full.

She said the benefit figure had been reduced as Pritchett had already repaid 'just under £30,000'.

The barrister asked that of the benefit figure, £14,203.99 should be payable to NatWest bank in compensation.

The judge certified those figures and gave Pritchett three months to pay, which would involve the sale of a property.

If he failed to pay the sum, he faced a further four years jail in default, the judge ruled.

One of Pritchett's former employees, who blew the whistle on his boss even though he had been complicit in some of his crimes, was also at the hearing today.

Lee Holberton, 47, of Grayston Close, Tewkesbury, received a two year jail term suspended for two years in 2015.

Today, the court heard that his lawyers had come to an agreement with the prosecution over the proceeds of crime hearing figures as well.

Ms Cavender said Holberton's available assets and benefit figure were the same, namely £11,700.79.

Recorder Parroy certified those figures, gave Holberton three months to pay and ordered he serve two years in jail in default if he failed to pay.

At the original sentencing hearing in October 2015, the court heard that Pritchett came up with a variety of scams to line his pockets and was in charge of a 'pervasive, blatant and cynical culture' of fraud at his Cheltenham firm, B&P Accounting.

When he jailed him for six years and banned him from being a company director for fifteen years Judge Jamie Tabor QC said: "In 2006, you began to act dishonestly. It is quite clear that within a relatively short period of time a culture of dishonesty was developed by you as the principal of the firm.

"You stole from clients, you stole from the Revenue, you created false documents in order to claim tax refunds, you made false representations to evade fiscal liabilities and you even went to the extent of claiming statutory sick pay for non existent staff.

"There was no scam you would not undertake if it brought in money. The length and extent of your dishonesty was simply breathtaking.

"You were at the head of a pervasive, blatant and cynical culture which made your employees feel uncomfortable and caused the resignation of at least one.

"By 2010 you were riding high on a wave of dishonesty and you felt that while others were undergoing serious financial difficulties, including some of your clients, you were doing very well.

"Whenever a client's company went bust owing you money you made false claims to the Revenue so you could get money and keep it."

Judge Tabor said he was sure Pritchett's offending would have continued indefinitely if he had not been stopped by Holberton blowing the whistle on him and revealing his crooked activities.

Holberton admitted four offences of fraud involving £57,694.

He was ordered to do 300 hours of unpaid work as part of his suspended sentence and was banned from being a company director for 7 years.

Pritchett was sentenced for 22 counts of fraud, one of obtaining a money transfer by deception, one of false accounting and one of failing to make a required disclosure.

He also admitted three offences of perverting the course of justice by disposing of property in blatant breach of a court order freezing his assets after he had been charged.

The offences took place between from 2006 until 2013 at Pritchett's accountancy practice in Shurdington, just outside Cheltenham.