A TEENAGER who defrauded youngsters out of tens of thousands of pounds on the promise of discount music festival tickets has been jailed.

Ben Hyland-Ward instead used their money to fund a lavish lifestyle of casinos, foreign holidays, online gambling and football matches.

The 19-year-old, of Westfield Avenue South, Saltdean, had promised hundreds of friends and fellow students across Sussex cut-price Bestival music festival tickets.

He wept in the dock at Hove Crown Court yesterday as he was sentenced to 21 months in a young offenders’ institute after admitting one count of fraud.

In 2014 he took it upon himself to buy tickets for the music festival on the Isle of Wight from a registered supplier.

He then sold them on to around 50 friends, making a modest profit in the process.

He decided to do the same the following year, only this time did not buy tickets.

Rowan Jenkins, prosecuting, said Hyland-Ward used his reputation from the previous year to entice people in.

He started taking money from as early as December 2014 and even recruited a team of five others to sell tickets for him.

When his team was not selling enough, Mr Jenkins said he would “push and cajole” to the point of becoming threatening.

He added that although the total amount he took is not known, it was likely to be between £35,000 and £50,000.

Thousands poured in each month but not once did Hyland-Ward buy any tickets.

Instead he used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle, which included at least five foreign holidays to, among other locations, Berlin and Barcelona.

His bank account also showed multiple visits to the country’s top racecourses such as Ascot and hundreds of pounds spent on football tickets and taxi journeys of up to £167 a time.

The teenager also spent tens of thousands of pounds on online gambling sites and casino trips.

As the festival, which is held every September, drew closer, people started to worry and approached Hyland-Ward for their tickets.

He told them there was no problem and even made fake documents and receipts in an attempt to fob them off.

A Facebook page was started called Stresstival and people tried to track down the teenager.

At the start of September 2015 the police got involved and Hyland-Ward was arrested.

Ravi Dogra, defending, said his client received death threats and was even attacked by three men.

He argued that the teenager was genuinely remorseful and suffered from mental health problems.

He added that he had attempted to take his life three times since his arrest and intended to pay all the money back.

Judge Jeremy Gold QC accepted he started legitimately but ended up taking money “hand over fist with no reasonable prospect” of providing tickets.

He said it was “too little too late”, adding: “At 19 you are a man of previous good character but the reality is that I must give you a custodial sentence for a serious case of fraudulent activity over a long period of time.”

He is eligible for release on licence after serving half.

CONMAN JET-SETTED AROUND EUROPE WITH HIS FRIENDS

MOST 17-year-olds spend their days studying hard and perhaps earning a few pounds waiting tables.

But not Ben Hyland-Ward.

He was living the high life, jet-setting around Europe, touring the country’s top racecourses and spending thousands at casinos.

What started as an honest money-making venture, soon got out of hand.

From as early as December 2014, thousands of pounds were being paid into his account each month by youngsters across Sussex.

They had been promised huge discounts on Bestival tickets. And after his success the previous year, they had no reason not to trust him. But unlike the previous year, Hyland-Ward made no attempt to buy any tickets.

Instead he spent the cash almost as soon as it entered his account.

He didn’t have a job and had dropped out of college so spent his days gambling, holidaying and treating his friends to days out.

He used the likes of Twitter and Facebook to entice people in and even assembled a team to help him.

As the festival approached pressure started to mount. The Argus received dozens of calls from concerned teens who had handed over their cash. Then came the death threats and Hyland-Ward fled the county. He has promised to pay the money back. But with hundreds of youngsters owed up to £50,000, it may take a few years.