A CROWN court judge has closed the file on conman Ricky Gunning after hearing how he died before facing sentence.

The 35-year-old, who was described by his mother Jenny Godwin as a "loveable rogue", was killed in a car smash at the Yarnbrook roundabout on the A350 near Trowbridge in the early hours of Sunday, April 15.

At the time of his death the father was on bail awaiting sentence after admitting cheating building companies out of thousands of pounds.

Gunning, who had given his home address to the court as Shakespeare Road, Wootton Bassett, lied about who he was to set up credit accounts.

In Trowbridge on Friday, March 17 last year he obtained kitchen units and appliances worth £1,637.76 from Howdens Joinery by deception.

Gunning managed to get a credit account by falsely representing that he was Mark Thornberry.

In Bath the following day he got further kitchen units and appliances worth £2,721.44 from the same company by saying he was Ricky Dunning.

A month later on Thursday, April 13 he obtained £1,718.45 worth of goods from the company in Chippenham by saying he was TW Venters.

And two days earlier in Trowbridge he had got £1,652.64 worth of marine ply from Certegy Ltd when he again used the alias TW Venters and proffered a cheque in that name knowing it would not be made.

Gunning had also pleaded guilty to stealing a chequebook belonging to Mark Thornberry from Bath between January 1 and April 1 last year.

He had pleaded guilty to four counts of obtaining property by deception and one of theft when he appeared before magistrates and had been committed to the crown court for sentence.

Lynne Henderson, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court that there had also been a number of other matters which were to have been taken into consideration when sentencing.

She asked the court to mark the file closed as a copy of the interim death certificate had been sent to the court.

Gunning was the passenger in a blue Jaguar XJ sports car, which was being driven by his cousin Dean Gunning, 25, when the crash took place.

Ricky Gunning was born in Swindon and grew up and attended school in Wootton Bassett until he left home and moved to London at the age of 18.

His mum, Jenny Godwin, who lives in Wootton Bassett, paid tribute to her "loveable rogue" of a son, ahead of his funeral in Swindon.

She told the Adver at the time: "Everybody loved him as he was a loveable rogue.

"He left home to go to London when he was 18 but he always came back.

"People liked him because he was him, if you know what I mean."