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A married couple who were jailed for conning a farmer out of £1 million have been ordered to pay back £800,000 or serve further time in prison.

Somerset-based travellers Dennis McGinley, 30, and Bianca McGinley, 24, pulled off the fraud by suggesting they were connected to Irish terrorists.

They also defrauded other victims in North Yorkshire, Staffordshire and the Avon and Somerset areas, netting £1.9 million over three years.

The biggest loser was a farmer from the outskirts of York, who was conned out of £1million, some of which went to buy luxury cars.

They were jailed in April 2010 after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to defraud and they now face further jail time unless they pay back a large chunk of the ill-gotten cash.

A confiscation hearing held at Leeds Crown Court heard they benefited to the tune of £1,859,675.36, and have combined assets worth more than £800,000.

Dennis has until June to pay the agreed amount or will face a further four years in prison, on top of his original eight-year sentence which he is currently serving.

Bianca McGinley has three months to pay or will face 12 months in prison.

The pair targeted four victims from Staffordshire and Avon and Somerset between March 2006 and March 2009.

The initial inquiry was launched by North Yorkshire Police in March 2009 when a complaint was made by the Yorkshire farmer. However, this developed into a joint investigation alongside colleagues from the Staffordshire and Avon and Somerset police forces after a further three cases came to light.

The McGinleys mainly targeted members of the farming and business community, the victims placed in such fear that although they had lost many hundreds of thousands of pounds, they were reluctant to speak to the police even when visited with the evidence of the offences.

An elderly victim in Somerset, a vulnerable man living on his own, lost more than £80,000. He was forced to declare himself bankrupt and leave his home as a result of the scam. His health was also badly affected. The court also awarded a compensation order of £46,600 to the victim from Somerset, who wishes to remain anonymous.

He has already had £35,000 returned to him by authorities and following the compensation order will receive the remaining money owing to him. He is said to be "overjoyed".

Detective Constable Rebecca Maddison, who led the Avon and Somerset investigation, said the effect of the McGinleys' crime on the victims was "devastating".