Two businessmen behind a dodgy internet holiday scam that netted £3m have been disqualified as directors.

Nigel Moore of Liverpool Road, Chester, and Paul Charleston of Las Palmeiras, Spain, agreed not to run companies for the next ten years after fleecing £3m from unwary punters over a two-year period, the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) said today.

Through a number of different companies - Travelmasters Limited, Mediterranean Marketing Limited, Callmasters UK Limited, CCH International Limited, Intersun Limited and Leisuremasters Limited - the pair offered discounts for luxury holidays all over the world.

Tempted by the offer of a "free" holiday, victims of the scam coughed up as much as £6,000 to purchase a so-called "key" - a user name and password - giving them access to websites which were said to offer incredible savings on holiday accommodation.

Snag is, when they finally gained access to these sites they found the information supplied was bogus and that the cheap holiday deal was just a scam. ®

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