Ponzi fraudster John Hirst, who amassed a £10.5 million fortune by ripping off investors on the sunshine island of Majorca, must return to Bradford Crown Court in December for a confiscation hearing.

Hirst, 61, of Millroyd Mill, Huddersfield Road, Brighouse, is serving a nine-year jail sentence for conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

He was locked up in September by Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC who branded him “a common criminal”.

Hirst’s former wife, Linda, was locked up for two and a half years and his business partner, Richard Pollett, was imprisoned for six and a half years.

Yesterday, none of the three returned to Bradford Crown Court for dates to be fixed to claw back their ill-gotten gains under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Financial investigators have put Hirst’s benefit from the scam at £10.5 million.

He will be back in court on December 12 for a two-day confiscation hearing when the judge will rule on what money and assets they can seize from him.

Similar hearings were set for Linda Hirst, on August 2, and Pollett, on October 18.