In a bid to escape a spiraling poker debt of £50,000 a Devon man stole a dead friend’s identity.

The 63 year old Norman Kay had planned to disappear and secretly meet up with his wife under his new name.

Kay had earlier pleaded guilty to improperly obtaining a passport, making false representations and attempted deception at Exeter Crown Court.

Judge Jeremy Griggs sentenced Kay to nine months in prison.

Kay was in debt after losing in high-stakes poker games, and decided to resurrect himself as Christopher Francis, a friend who was born the day before him and had died in 1974, prosecutor Emily Pitts told the previous hearing.

He obtained a passport, a birth certificate and a National Health Service medical card in the name of Mr. Francis, together with his National Insurance number - with the aim of obtaining money from the Benefits Agency.

The court was told Kay's plan was to do a "Reggie Perrin", move abroad and live off benefits under a different name.

But benefits officials and police caught up with him when they realised he was living a double life in Sheffield and Devon.
 
Defence counsel Piers Norsworthy said Kay was in poor health, suffered from depression and turned to poker on a large scale, which landed him in debt.

"He felt useless as Norman Kay and in sheer desperation decided that Kay would cease to exist and Christopher Francis would be reborn," Mr. Norsworthy said.

Sentencing Kay, the judge told him: "You were trying to escape from your £50,000 gambling debts and were using the identity of a dead friend who had been known to you for many years.

"The authorities are clear this type of activity must be eradicated. If and when people are found out they will receive immediate prison sentences."