FORMER Antiques Roadshow expert David Brand Inglis has been cleared of swindling thousands of pounds from his bosses in an antiques scam.

Mr Inglis, 60, from Petworth, walked free from court after last-minute evidence came to light.

He had been accused of massively over-valuing silverware and faking names on invoices in order to pocket the difference.

But the Crown Prosecution Service drop-ped the case after a cash book and cheque stubs were discovered which showed at least one other person at the London firm for which he worked knew what was going on.

The jury at Mid-

dlesex Crown Court was ordered to acquit the TV personality.

Mr Inglis said he felt no bitterness to his former employer, Bond Street dealer Tessier.

But he added: "I know I'm always going to be known as the Antiques Roadshow rogue. I'm not chuffed about it, but that's life."

Mr Inglis joined the company in 1993 on a salary of £43,000 a year, but resigned in 1995 when £650,000 worth of jewellery, for which he was responsible, was stolen after an art fair in Belgium.

His former employers later claimed a check on company account books showed Mr Inglis had changed the names on three invoices.

One case concerned a silver chalice bought by him for £12,500 from the 19th Century dealer John De Gruchy, who was long dead.

But the court heard at least one other person who handled accounts at Tessier would have known of the name change.

Mr Inglis claimed all along he had changed names on invoices to protect the name of the seller, who did not wish to be identified.

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