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An IT expert who used forged rail tickets for his daily commute into London for more than two years has been given a nine-month suspended jail sentence.

Jonathan Moore, 27, saved more than ^12,000 by using his computer skills to design and produce phoney tickets to get from his home in East Sussex to the capital.

He was caught when a sharp-eyed ticket inspector on a First Capital Connect train realised his ticket was a fake during a routine inspection on the Bedford to Brighton service.

Subtle differences in the background colour and material of Moore's ticket were noticed by the inspector.

Further inquiries revealed IT consultant Moore, who had no previous convictions, had evaded train fares from July 2006 until last November 13, when he was caught.

During a search of his home, a laptop was seized which uncovered designs for more than 70 fraudulent tickets, British Transport Police (BTP) said.

At Brighton Magistrates' Court in August, Moore, of Goldstone Villas, Hove, pleaded guilty to fraud, making 74 forged travel tickets and possessing 11 forged tickets.