The man who set up the country's first freephone helpline for gays and bisexuals was yesterday jailed for 12 months following its collapse with debts of more than £15,000.

The Shipley-based OUTline Trust was launched in a blaze of publicity back in February and received the support of Heritage Secretary Chris Smith as well as celebrities such as Julian Clary, Lily Savage and Stephen Fry.

But the following month its founder, Steven Taylor, was arrested by police after the phone lines, which were manned by more than 20 volunteers, went dead.

Yesterday 22-year-old Taylor, of Raistrick Way, Shipley, was jailed at Bradford Crown Court after he admitted offences of forgery, using a false instrument and obtaining property and services by deception.

The court heard how Taylor, who had a previous conviction for dishonesty offences, supplied false details to open a bank account in the trust's name last December and then used dud cheques to obtain office equipment and other items. including pagers, for the project.

Prosecutor Jonathan Gibson said Taylor, who had been working as a gas salesman, also used invalid cheques to hire cars for his own use.

Mr Gibson said that although there was never any money paid into the bank account Taylor falsely claimed in one car lease application that the trust had a credit balance of £115,000.

Taylor even tried to pay off an outstanding £2,000 compensation order from his previous court appearance using one of the dud cheques.

Lawyer Mark Hinchliffe, for Taylor, stressed that his client had not benefited personally from the offences and the only victims had been commercial suppliers.

"It was not a pre-planned scam for personal profit,'' he added.

He said Taylor had found growing up gay extremely difficult and together with friends they had seen the need for a focused and sympathetic advice agency.

"This was a much-needed service and Steven Taylor began this project with a good heart and with goodwill.

"But he was certainly over-enthusiastic and indeed he was naively over-ambitious. Before he had arranged appropriate funding he had begun to acquire the trappings of a professional agency.''

Jailing Taylor, Recorder John Hitchen, who was sitting with two magistrates, said: "How could we say to the public at large, if somebody defrauded people of £15,000 they won't go to prison if their heart is in the right place?''

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.