A retired couple have been financially ruined after their jailed mortgage adviser told a series of lies to their bank.

Eastern Daily Press: The Broughtons' adviser Mark Thorogood was later banned by the FCA. Pictured at Caernarfon Magistrates Court in 2018. Photo: Daily Post WalesThe Broughtons' adviser Mark Thorogood was later banned by the FCA. Pictured at Caernarfon Magistrates Court in 2018. Photo: Daily Post Wales (Image: Daily Post Wales)

Derek and Christine Broughton, from Worstead, were sold a ten-year mortgage in 2008 by an adviser who has since been banned for making fraudulent mortgage claims.

Mark Thorogood, who is now in prison for a separate fraud, claimed on the mortgage application that the couple, both 74, were property developers with a joint income of more than £100,000 a year and with their own company.

In reality they were pensioners with a tiny income, but selling them the mortgage meant Thorogood was paid more than £3,000 in fees.

They also could not afford the monthly repayments to Abbey bank of up to £1,600 a month on the 7.6pc, interest-only mortgage, meaning that despite making repayments for ten years, they are in arrears and owe the bank more than the initial £256,000 borrowed.

Eastern Daily Press: Christine and Derek Broughton. Picture: DENISE BRADLEYChristine and Derek Broughton. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Archant)

Abbey, which has since been incorporated into Santander, did not check whether any of the information on the form was correct, Mr Broughton claimed.

Santander said it was the responsibility of the mortgage adviser to make sure the information given was accurate.

But the Broughtons picked a rogue adviser who was later fined £100,000 for fraudulent claims.

'We are broke now,' Mr Broughton said. 'My beef is they should never have let the mortgage go through. It was applied for on lies.'

Eastern Daily Press: Christine and Derek Broughton borrowed the money against their home in Wales which they are now selling. Picture: DENISE BRADLEYChristine and Derek Broughton borrowed the money against their home in Wales which they are now selling. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Archant)

Mrs Broughton said: 'It has been terrible and affected my health. Poor Derek has been trying to work it out but we owe more than when we started.'

They admitted they paid little attention to the mortgage at the time as they were dealing with lots of personal matters.

The bank said Mr and Mrs Broughton would have signed legal paperwork with their solicitor and the mortgage deed.

The money was borrowed against their home near Conwy, north Wales, where the couple were living at the time.

They are now selling their house in North Wales, while renting a bungalow in Worstead.

A spokesman for Santander said: 'Mr and Mrs Broughton's mortgage was approved in 2008 based on the information that was provided by their independent mortgage adviser and in line with the lending criteria that applied at the time.

'We continue to work with Mr and Mrs Broughton to find a solution.'

•'The pied piper'

The Broughtons wanted to use a mortgage adviser near to where they were living in north Wales in 2008.

But unfortunately the man they chose, Mark Thorogood, was a fraudster who called himself the 'pied piper of Llandudno'.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned Thorogood in 2010 and fined him £100,000 for making fraudulent mortgage claims.

THE FCA said that Mr Thorogood's company, Property Park Mortgages, submitted fraudulent claims from 2004 to 2008.

Thorogood was then jailed in June last year for four years for defrauding a friend out of £28,000.

He was also jailed for a year in 2016 for failing to pay court penalties.

Santander said it relied on information supplied online by the mortgage adviser and the Broughtons should also have had independent legal advice about the mortgage.

But the Broughtons said they used a solicitor supplied by Thorogood.