A MAN who worked as a vet despite having no qualifications has been jailed for 20 months.

Patrick Keniry, 53, of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, pleaded guilty to fraud and practising as a registered veterinary surgeon when he was not qualified at Swindon Crown Court yesterday.

He also pleaded guilty to two other offences after it was revealed he had set up a bank account and credit card under a fake name of Ian Brown.

Keniry, who worked as a track assistant at the Abbey Stadium, in Blunsdon, caring for greyhounds, admitted making a gain for himself from vet Simon Gower and others by fraudulently claiming he was a qualified and registered vet from Essex.

The offences took place between the start of 2008 through to the end of August this year. He was arrested on August 23.

Andrew Eddy, defending, said his client, who has a string of previous convictions for similar offences, had completed three years out of four of his vet training course in South Africa in the 70s before he was branded a terrorist when he sold photos to the media of South African police shooting black schoolchildren.

He was then unable to qualify as a vet, which Mr Eddy claimed, has led to his previous convictions.

“He has a passion for animals and he says he did his job because he loved working with animals, not for any financial benefit,” he said.“I think anybody would acknowledge there is no problem at all with his dealings with animals, in fact, he was a very good practitioner.”

Mr Eddy said: “He knows custody is inevitable. He is unusual in that he has committed fraud not for himself but because of the passion he has for animals,” he said.

Recorder Stephen Lennard said he accepted that Keniry had experience with animals and took into account his early guilty plea, but jailed him for 20 months, of which he will serve 10 months in prison, and the remaining 10 months on licence. He also fined him £250.

He said: “These are very serious offences because they undermine public confidence in the profession of veterinary surgery.

“The public believe that when they go to the vets, or the doctors, that person is qualified.

“You were not, and you never have been.

“You have deprived someone else who may have spent years training at considerable cost to become qualified as a vet, to obtain that employment you obtained dishonestly.”