Travel agent who lied about having cancer while scamming hundreds of holidaymakers in £2.6m con is jailed
A travel agent who lied about having cancer while scamming hundreds of holidaymakers in a £2.6m con has been jailed.
Lyne Barlow carried out one of the biggest frauds ever investigated by Durham Police – and told people she had a terminal illness while she committed her crimes.
She initially targeted her own family and friends and used their savings before setting up a travel agency, in which she fraudulently sold holidays.
Barlow, 39, admitted the theft of £500,000 from her own mother following the death of her father in 2015, as well as 10 charges of fraud and one count of money laundering.
Jailing her for nine years at Durham Crown Court on Friday, Judge Jo Kidd told Barlow she had “an extraordinary talent for dishonesty”.
The fraudster sold luxury holidays at knock-down prices but was funding the sales in a ponzi-style scheme by bringing in new customers to fund existing ones.
Many of her 1,400 victims discovered the holidays they bought through her business were never booked or paid for by her.
Durham Police said Barlow tricked victims, including her close relatives, into believing she had cancer as a means to deflect complaints when people contacted her about missing booking references.
A local travel industry source said Barlow, from Stanley, County Durham, would offer prices to customers that were “too good to be true”.
She is understood to have offered deals such as a five-star all-inclusive week in Dubai for as little as £500.
Lyne Barlow pictured leaving Durham Crown Court at an earlier hearing
‘Disgraceful’ crimes
Jay Steward, 53, told Sky News he booked two holidays with Barlow in 2020 after she was recommended by a friend.
He bought a week’s getaway for his daughter and her boyfriend at an all-inclusive five-star hotel in Dubai, which was priced at £1,000 for the couple.
He also paid around £700 for a week in Malta for himself and his wife Julie for their 27th wedding anniversary. The holiday was on sale for half the price being offered by a well-known travel operator, he said.
After the COVID pandemic forced the holidays to be cancelled, Mr Steward said he received “excuses” about why there were delays to his money being refunded.
He said he then received a message saying Barlow had cancer and she “can’t respond to messages”.
It was only after he mentioned that he planned to contact his credit card company that he received the money back, Mr Steward added.
He told Sky News he felt like he had a “dodged a bullet” and branded Barlow’s crimes “disgraceful”, saying: “I feel so sorry for those people who’ve lost everything.”
Barlow was jailed on Friday. Pic: Durham Constabulary
‘Barlow tried to recruit us’
Another holidaymaker who booked a cruise holiday with Barlow said she paid upfront after being offered a 10% discount.
After the trip was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic, she paid an extra £350 to book on to another cruise – and says the additional payment has not been returned.
The industry source said Barlow “did much untold damage to local travel agents who simply could not compete at the unrealistic prices”.
“We tried to tell numerous people it wasn’t right but as some people were travelling and getting the holidays at these prices – she was clearly funding the shortfall with other people’s money – they wouldn’t believe it,” the source told PA news agency.
“We even contacted her ourselves and tried to call her out but she wasn’t fazed in the least and actually tried to recruit us to work for her.”
Barlow told her customers that the reason her deals were so cheap was because other travel agents were charging “large mark-ups” on holidays, when in fact it was her prices “that were too good to be true”, according to the source.
She also “lied about having the relevant licences to trade,” the source added.
They said: “We contacted police but were informed that as people were getting their holidays, at this point there was nothing they could do.
“People were literally throwing money at her.”
Barlow offered a five-star all-inclusive week in Dubai for as little as £500. File pic
‘Lives changed forever’
Barlow claimed the holidays she offered were covered by ATOL and ABTA protection schemes, which provide financial protection for package holidays if the travel company goes bust.
The judge said the amount stolen over seven years was £2.6m, causing a loss of over £1.2m.
Police said the fraud charges related to loans, investments and holiday sales.
At a previous hearing, Tony Davis, defending, asked for the court to allow a psychiatric report to be prepared and referred to the fact Barlow had told some people she had a terminal illness.
Her travel business is no longer operational, and its social media page was taken down shortly after her arrest in September 2020.
Detective Sergeant Alan Meeha said fraud was a “horrendous crime” and there were “far-reaching consequences” for the victims.
“So many people have been affected by her actions, lives have been changed forever and some are still feeling the effects today,” Mr Meeha added.
“This is one of the biggest fraud cases Durham Constabulary has ever dealt with and I would like to thank everyone who came forward for their patience and understanding while we carried out a thorough investigation.”
Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
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This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
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Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
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