A former Devon health boss has appeared in court accused of fraud.

Jon Andrewes is a former chairman of the Torbay NHS Care Trust and the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust. On Wednesday, he appeared in court accused of misrepresenting his qualifications to gain both posts.

Prosecutor Chris Bittlestone told Torbay magistrates that Andrewes was being accused of being a ‘Walter Mitty’ character in representing that he had qualifications that he did not possess to gain jobs he was not entitled to.

The 63-year-old was remanded on bail to appear before a judge at Exeter Crown Court on January 13, on condition that he continues to live at home in Flood Street, Stoke Gabriel, and reports once a week to the police station at Torquay.

Andrewes was employed at the chairman of the Torbay NHS Care Trust in 2014, which runs the hospitals in Dartmouth and Totnes, when he moved on to become the chairman of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust in July 2015.

According to newspaper reports at the time Andrewes was set to run the Cornwall hospitals while keeping an oversight role at Torbay.

At the same time he was said to have chaired the public interest company Brixham 21 between 2000 and 2011 and been chief executive at St Margaret’s Somerset Hospice between 2005 and 2015.

Andrewes stood down as chairman of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust in July this year after just one year in the post, citing health problems. He is accused of committing fraud on July 20, 2007, by dishonestly making false representations by misrepresenting his qualification with the intent to gain the appointment as chairman of the Torbay NHS Care trust, and of a similar offence involving the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust at Truro on April 27, 2015.

He is also accused of possessing a false degree certificate from the University of London for use in fraud and gaining a pecuniary advantage in the shape of greater remuneration at Taunton in 2004.