The director of a fire safety and security firm and his ex-wife funded their extravagant lifestyles in an £815,000 tax scam.

Michael and Donna Howard pocketed more than £530,000 in VAT by conducting transactions using fictitious and de-registered tax numbers.

Donna Howard also stole £283,713 from her husband's employees by skimming off their income tax and National Insurance contributions.

HMRC investigators found she created false payslips and paperwork in a bid to cover her tracks.

The couple's crimes were committed over a three-year period at MDH Fire and Security Services Limited in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire.

They used the money to buy a £400,000 house in the town and pay for luxury trips abroad.

At Hamilton Sheriff Court on Thursday, Michael Howard, 44, was sentenced to three years in prison.

Donna Howard, 43, was also given a three-year sentence in addition to two nine-month concurrent sentences.

An HMRC spokesman said action to recover the evaded taxes is now under way.