A West London man was acting under duress from loan sharks when he tried to commit a £13,800 fraud at a bank in Swindon, a court has been told.

Dean Fitzgerald, 30, had a false passport to back up his attempt to cash a stolen cheque but staff at the Swindon branch of Royal Bank of Scotland became suspicious and called the police.

Father-of-one Fitzgerald, of Brentfield Avenue, Alperton, Wembley, admitted one charge of fraud by presenting the cheque to RBS in March 2009.

He also admitted having a false passport in the name of Stephen Hannay.

At Gloucester Crown Court Fitzgerald was given a 32-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months and ordered to do 150 hours community work.

Derek Ryder, prosecuting, said on March 31 Fitzgerald presented a stolen cheque for £13,800 belonging to Kirkdale Estates and offered the false passport as identification at the Royal Bank of Scotland, in Swindon.

“When staff checked, they found it had come from Scotland and the police were informed,” Mr Ryder said.

“Fitzgerald identified himself as Stephen Hannay and his picture matched the one found in the passport.

"A chequebook belonging to Kirkdale Estates was found in his possession, together with a large number of documents and practice signatures."

He said Fitzgerald’s true identity was not discovered until he was arrested and when inquiries were made to Kirkdale Estates, the passport was found to be forged.

“He admitted acting under duress from others and he told police he had carried out another fraud in Bath to make the Swindon fraud work,” Mr Ryder said.

It was not known how Mr Fitzgerald got hold of the chequebook and there was no explanation as to how his photo came to be on the passport, he added.

Judge William Hart said Fitzgerald's basis of plea showed he was under pressure from others and the sophistication of the attempted fraud was not attributed to him alone.

Defending, Rob Ross said Fitzgerald acted as carer for his partner and their child.

“His partner is due in hospital in the near future for a serious operation on her spine,” he said.

“He is available for unpaid work, and bearing in mind his other responsibilities, this would be an imposition for him.

“This case has been hanging over him for 8 months and he has been very nervous for a very long time. He will not let himself get into the hands of loan sharks again.”

Judge Hart said the offence had been committed under pressure and Fitzgerald was not responsible for the sophisticated setup.

“But it would have put money into the hands of people who would not have used it for productive purposes.”