A used car dealer in Dublin has been fined £5,875 for selling a ‘clocked' car.

Timmy Keane of VK Motors pleaded not guilty of selling an 08 Volkswagen Passat which had a mileage 37,000 miles below what it should have been.

Keane was convicted of breaching the Consumer Protection Act by Judge John O’Neill.

The court heard the Passat’s engine “blew up” after it was sold to a second unsuspecting buyer.

According to the Irish Times, Judge O’Neill convicted Keane, imposed a €500 fine and ordered him to discharge the NCA’s costs of €2,500 and pay €7,000 to the affected customer.

The clocking story follows on from car dealer Sahaire Ramzan who narrowly escaped jail after pleading guilty to running a fraudulent business that sold clocked cars.

Ramzan, of Conway Road in Luton, was caught after another trader spotted two cars he'd sold to Ramzan advertised with reduced mileages.

Luton Crown Court was told Ramzan traded from his family home and used a series of false names and addresses and more than 20 mobile numbers.

He advertised online and agreed to meet customers outside several different addresses where he pretended to live.

Ramzan received a 20 month prison sentence suspended for 2 years, and was ordered to carry out 300 hours of community service.