Philip Hill, 47, was director of In The Box Ltd, based in Bolton. The company, which took almost £50,000 from customers for kitchens that were never delivered, has been wound up at the High Court in the public interest following a government investigation into its conduct.

Mr Hill, from Bolton, has been listed as the director of several kitchen and window companies which have either gone into liquidation or been dissolved since 1992. But despite his track record, the M.E.N understands that he has continued working in the kitchens trade.

We tracked him down to De Vinci Improvements in Bournemouth, and asked him if he would like to apologise to customers who lost money to In the Box. He declined to comment.

Mr Hill resigned as a director of De Vinci Improvements in August but was still apparently working at the company's offices when we contacted the firm.

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Mr Hill was previously director of Matthew Thomas Installation Ltd, which was put into compulsory liquidation in 2007 owing about £2m, including money to people who paid deposits for kitchens that never appeared.

West Yorkshire Trading Standards also ordered Mr Hill to sign an agreement saying he would improve his conduct after complaints from customers of two companies in Bolton and one in Batley, West Yorkshire.