A WOMAN who was a director of a business being run from Rock has been banned from acting as a director for three and a half years for failing to pay taxes, following investigations by the Insolvency Service.

The disqualification, which started on September 11, prevents Harriet Alexandra Noakes, 22, the director of Relish Skincare Limited, from managing or controlling limited companies until February, 2017.

The Insolvency Service investigation showed that Ms Noakes, 22, failed to pay tax due totalling £328,785 for the whole of the trading period between September, 2009 to the date of liquidation to HM Revenue and Customs.

During that time Relish Skincare Limited, which used the trade name Karin Herzog, received and expended £1,711,500 through the company bank account, with no payments being made in respect of VAT and PAYE/NIC liabilities The company went into voluntary liquidation on May 25, 2012 with debts of £327,927.

Ms Noakes’ father, David Noakes, 54, had previously given a Bankruptcy Restriction Undertaking (BRU) for four years on September 24, 2010, following his bankruptcy in November, 2009.

The BRU resulted from an investigation by the Insolvency Service, which showed that, between October, 2006 and November, 2009, Mr Noakes traded as a seller of skin care products under the same trading style and from the same addresses as his daughter’s company. He had also failed to pay tax worth £128,009.

Sue Macleod, head of insolvent investigations Midlands and West, said: "It is not acceptable to disregard tax liabilities - failure to pay taxes deprives the taxpayer of the funds needed to operate public services and the Insolvency Service will take robust action against those who do so.”

Relish Skincare Limited was incorporated on May 6, 2009 as Karin Herzog Distribution Limited. It changed name to its current style on December 22, 2012.

The company traded between August, 2009 and May 25, 2012 from premises at 21a Saltash Parkway Industrial Estate, Saltash, Cornwall and Charlemont, Bliss Gate Road, Rock as a distributor of beauty products.