The tax-dodging millionaire owner of a Dartford clay pigeon shooting club who “thought he was above the law” has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Peter Charles Duffield, 62, from Crofton Lane in Orpington, failed to pay any tax on his earnings because he wasn’t a “paperwork person”.

The gun-enthusiast businessman evaded almost £1.4m in tax after he hadn’t submitted his self-assessment tax returns for the last seven years.

Duffield, who ran the Dartford Clay Shooting Club right by the Thames above Dartford, had his fraud uncovered by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Before he was arrested, Duffield lived an extravagant lifestyle. He had spent his stolen tax on two properties, family holidays to Marbella, Rolex watches, investments in phosphate mining in Iraq, and a gun collection

He also owned at least nine vehicles, including six Land Rovers, some with personalised number plates.

He also ran a 50-fleet haulage business in Essex but didn’t submit a single tax return on his earnings, including profits from the sale of three properties.

Despite his bookkeeper and accountant urging him to file his taxes, and despite a prior warning from HMRC under civil legislation to keep his tax affairs in order, he told officers who arrested him at his home in June 2015 that he hadn’t because he wasn’t a “paperwork person”.

HMRC officers discovered that while Duffield had kept meticulous business records, and ensured that his bookkeeper and accountant were notified of all receipts and earnings, he never signed or posted the tax returns they prepared on his behalf, claiming that he thought they had submitted the paperwork.

Arresting officers also seized more than £20,000 in cash found in his car and wardrobe.

Duffield was found guilty of cheating the public revenue at the Old Bailey after a trial on March 13.

He was sentenced to four years, to serve two years in prison and two on licence, at the same court today, April 6.

His Honour Judge Gordon, speaking at the sentencing, said: “You knew full well what your obligations were. Your evasion was deliberate and dishonest, choosing instead to do the bare minimum and then only when backed into a corner.”

Paul Barton, assistant director at HMRC’s fraud investigation service, said: “Duffield could have avoided jail, and was given every opportunity to get his tax affairs in order.

“However, despite warnings and advice from professionals, Duffield showed a blatant disregard for the tax system and funded a lavish lifestyle at taxpayers’ expense.

“Duffield thought he was above the law, but he was wrong.”