A former English TV star and convicted felon who operated an illegal self-storage business in Bulphan, England, has been ordered by a court to repay the £553,772 in profit he made from the operation plus the sale of the land. The facility began operating on a green belt on Brentwood Road in 2014 without planning permission, according to a source.

Paul Ballard, 39, who co-presented the children's TV show “Diggit” from 1998 to 2002, is currently serving a 19-year prison sentence for a variety of charges stemming from two separate crimes. He’s the one who established the storage business, though he also had a front man, Kevin Slack, according to a source.

The court found the men failed to comply with an enforcement notice that ordered them to shutter the company and return the land to its original state. Though Flack did benefit from the scheme, the court found him to be an “unwitting” participant in the business and ordered him to pay only £1.

“This demonstrates that those who seek to break planning regulations to set up businesses on land without planning permission will not profit by breaking the rules,” Ben Maney, a councilor for Thurrock, England, said during the Dec. 6 hearing. “This significant confiscation order should serve as a warning that we take breaches of planning and enforcement notices extremely seriously and will use every legal means at our disposal to ensure justice is done.”

The court also determined Ballard, also known as “Des,” will be unlikely to pay the restitution while in prison. He was convicted in October for rape and other charges after an incident at a hotel. He also pleaded guilty in July to causing an eight-car crash that led to the death of two people, according to sources.

Sources:
Thurrock Gazette, Bulphan: Man With Illegal Storage Business Ordered to Repay £553,772
Gazette News, Essex Man Paul Ballard Jailed for Rape and Threats to Kill
Wikipedia, Paul 'Des' Ballard