article: Richard Williams arriving at Manchester Crown Court ahead of his sentencing earlier today . The self-styled U-boat captain who funded his eccentric and lavish lifestyle with a 'sophisticated' £1million VAT scam was today jailed for more than four years. Fraudster Richard Williams, 54, had spent £50,000 of the cash turning a canal narrowboat into a replica German Second World War submarine with torpedo tubes and a periscope. The Captain Birdseye lookalike was jailed at Manchester Crown Court for a total of four years and eight months after admitting cheating the taxman out of over £1million by reclaiming VAT from three false businesses. His ex-wife Laurel Howarth, 28, was jailed for 20 months for her part in the five-year scam which defrauded Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs of £1,017,505. Judge Michael Murray told Williams: 'This was serious offending. It was carefully thought out, organised and planned over a long period of time. All the indications are that the money was squandered. 'You created three false business and there was no substance to them whatsoever. You submitted false invoice to HMRC with a view to dishonestly reclaiming VAT.' The judge told Howarth that her involvement was 'less culpable' after she had admitted three charges of recklessly filing false VAT returns to HMRC. He said: 'I am satisfied that you might have been coerced into committing some, if not all, of the offences. But you have pleaded guilty and have had the benefit of the payments over several years.' The hearing was yesterday told by Dominic Thomas, defending Williams, that Williams had blown the cash on 'a dissipated and nomadic lifestyle - travelling around marinas, buying boats, drinking champagne and generally behaving stupidly and recklessly'. A previous hearing had been told that  Williams had indulged his passion for boats by building the replica sub on which he had posed in a captain's uniform. He had also paid for a private jet to take him and his wife  to Paris to buy bespoke wallpaper and had converted the lounge of their home in Blackpool, Lancashire into a copy of the Oval Office in the White House. The scam was thwarted by VAT inspectors who raided his 'submarine' when it was moored outside the Royal Armouries in Leeds. Six months earlier he had been spotted on a canal in Liverpool dressed as a German submarine commander. All aboard: Captain Birdseye lookalike Richard Williams on the narrowboat he spent £50,000 on to convert into a German submarine. The 54-year-old, real name Steven Howarth, blew proceeds of a £1million VAT fraud . An unusual sight: Williams became notorious on the canal system around Yorkshire and Lancashire after  kitting out his replica German U-boat with torpedo tubes and periscope, and posing in a captain’s uniform . Prosecutor Richard Orme said Williams and his partner Howarth submitted invoices reclaiming VAT on specialist disability beds in the five-year fraud between 2005 and 2010. He had set up three companies called Sleepability, Ortho-matic and Discount Mobility Store and submitted false invoices to claim back VAT from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. He was paid £343,549 for Sleepability claims, £416,700 for Ortho-matic claims and £257,255 for Discount Mobility Store claims. The total amount came to £1,017,505. Mr Orme told Judge Michael Murray: 'He set up businesses purporting to sell beds to the disabled, such sales being zero rated for VAT, whereas in fact no sales took place. In court: Alongside Williams (right) in the dock yesterday was his former teenage bride, Lauren Howarth (left). Both were jailed today, Williams for more than four years and Howarth for 20 months . 'There were no purchases and no sales and the only business Richard Williams was involved in was the manufacturing of false invoices and careful managing of the credits and debits to and from banks accounts to give an air of legitimacy to the fraud and avoid the scrutiny of VAT inspectors.' Mr Orme said Williams had used the identity of Richard Williams from a fellow boating enthusiast and had used his date of birth and National Insurance number to change his name by deed to Captain Richard Williams from his original name of Steven Howarth. Speaking ahead of an earlier hearing, Williams said: ‘In five years we never sold one bed. We made a fortune but got caught, and I will take the punishment. We went all over the world like a couple who had won the National Lottery. We had a great time – now I’ll do the time.’
highlights: Captain Birdseye lookalike Richard Williams spent £50,000 on his U-boat .
  He lived the high life splashing cash on jets and fast cars while on benefits .
  Lied that he was selling specially-adapted beds to people with disabilities .
  The 54-year-old was today jailed for a total of four years and eight months .
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