A judge has reduced a confiscation order against a fraudulent property developer to just £1 after learning that he had been declared bankrupt.

Last month, Judge John Potter ruled that Anthony Gribbin, who is currently serving a three year jail sentence, must pay back £17,750 of his £120,000 ill-gotten gains, reported the

.

However, Gribbin, 32, was brought back to Bradford Crown Court from jail this week to be told he now had to find just “a nominal amount of £1”, which is a 99.99 per cent decrease from the amount in the original confiscation order.

Judge Potter told him: “This represents the fact that you now don’t have any money.”

Gribbin, who owned historic Leaventhorpe Hall in Thornton, Bradford, was locked up for three years for seven offences of dishonestly selling on more than £200,000 of stolen farming and construction machinery.

Judge Potter said yesterday he had learned that a bankruptcy order was made against Gribbin at Bradford County Court on April 3, almost a month before he was jailed, and his assets passed to the official receiver.

Giles Bridge, for the Crown, said the only remaining items were three horses and some items subject to a restraining order.