A policeman who fraudulently raked in £70,000 in bank loans which he used to fund an extramarital affair walked free from court yesterday.

PC Jamie Hillman, 37, defrauded more than half a dozen high street banks, including Northern Rock and Barclays, by applying for loans and credit cards.

He made several false claims during the applications – including that he was a sergeant in the Metropolitan Police and even that he was a soldier serving in Afghanistan.

Hillman used the cash to fund his “double life” as he conducted an affair with a colleague at Avon and Somerset Police. He fled to Australia with the cash but was finally cornered when he returned to Britain to meet up with his lover.

But Hillman – who claimed he had amnesia while committing the fraud – was spared jail by Judge Carol Hagen at Bristol Crown Court yesterday.

She branded him “emotionally fragile” and “brave” for admitting his misdemeanours – handing him a 12-month prison term suspended for two years.

The court heard that father-of-two Hillman had come to Britain from Australia with his wife and began working as a PC for Avon and Somerset Police in 1999. But his deception began after he struck up an extramarital affair with a colleague.

Between January and April 2008 he defrauded half a dozen high street banks by using false information to apply for loans and credit cards online.

The total amounted to £64,300 – rising to £73,366.30 with interest.

Stephen Mooney, prosecuting, said: “He lied about significant personal details, knowing if he said the truth it would not be granted.

“When it was granted he used it to fund his lifestyle and created excuses for his bizarre behaviour. Lying had become a way of life for this defendant.”

During an application process for a credit card with Santander, Hillman claimed to have been training in Canada with the armed forces and was shortly to be deployed in Afghanistan. He then claimed to be serving in Afghanistan on another credit card form – asking for correspondence to be forwarded to his “brother” in Yeovil, Somerset.

He was charged with nine counts of fraud by deception in October 2010 and finally pleaded guilty after a jury was sworn in for his trial.

As well as the 12-month suspended sentence, Hillman, from St Anne’s Park, Bristol, was handed a 300-hour unpaid work order.

Judge Hagen said: “If you received a custodial sentence I think there is a very real chance your mental state would deteriorate fairly swiftly.”

Hillman resigned from the force when he was charged.