A WIDNES couple who fell victim to a timeshare fraudster are heading for High Court showdown with the man who conned them.

Thomas and Ann Tasker, of Blackburne Avenue, have joined hundreds of other timeshare victims from throughout the UK who have launched a multi-handed High Court compensation claim against John Palmer for millions of pounds in compensation.

The couple lost thousands of pounds over a timeshare deal in Tenerife. They claim con man Palmer - who was jailed for eight years for fraud - was involved in a conspiracy to deceive them and lied in a bid to get them to buy, sell, let or keep timeshare apartments.

The writ says he made false state-ments over the value of timeshares, over how quickly sales could be expected and over the status and role of a company called Caldon Ltd.

Palmer was convicted in 2001 after a seven-month trial. Years earlier he had been acquitted of handling gold stolen in the £26m Brinks Mat bullion robbery at Heathrow airport.

Fourteen companies were involved in the timeshare scam, according to the writ. The firms used different methods to snare customers to buy timeshares in Tenerife.

One was the buy/sell method. Some customers were told their timeshare weeks could be sold quickly at attractive prices by registering with a resale company and paying a registration fee.

Another was the buy/let scam - customers were told timeshares could be rented out for high returns with the first year's rent 'guaranteed'. They had to pay registration fee with a rental company.

Customers like the Taskers say the claims were false and Palmer knew timeshare weeks could not be sold at prices quoted. He also knew, they say, that apartments could not be let at the high rents claimed.