THE jailed art fraudster who duped Bolton Council into buying a fake Egyptian statue of the Amarna Princess is refusing to see his family.

Shaun Greenhalgh is not granting visiting rights to his brother, George, or his elderly parents, George and Olive.

It has prompted fears that Greenhalgh, aged 47, will never again see his frail mother and father - themselves implicated in his crimes - because their health has deteriorated since he was jailed.

Greenhalgh, along with his parents, duped Bolton Museum into spending £440,000 on the Amarna Princess in 2003.

The statue was said to be 3,300 years old and was authenticated by experts at Christie's and the British Museum.

But in early 2006 it was revealed as a fake and an investigation by the Metropolitan Police unmasked the Greenhalghs.

It was revealed that Shaun Greenhalgh, George senior, aged 84, and Olive, aged 83, had conspired to dupe art institutions over 17 years, selling them many fake pieces of art.

The family was estimated to have made £850,000 from their dealings, but they only had assets of £404,250, which were confiscated last Thursday by Bolton Crown Court.

At the same hearing, the final member of the family, George junior, aged 53, pleaded guilty to accepting £10,000 of his father's ill-gotten gains to buy a car.

He was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

Lisa Judge, defending, said George junior was concerned about his parents' health and the lack of contact they had with his imprisoned brother.

"His mother and father are criminals but they are also his parents and he looks after them," she said.

"His mother has been emotionally frail and there has been significant changes in their health.

"It's unlikely that Shaun, his brother, will see his father again because he is refusing access to the family."

Miss Judge described the family, who lived together at a house in The Crescent, Bromley Cross, as "dysfunctional".

She said George junior was not really aware of what his brother had been doing.

At Thursday's hearing, Judge William Morris ordered that Bolton Museum, which is owned by the council, should receive compensation of £363,707.

Two other organisations which paid for fakes - the Henry Moore Institute and the auction house Sotheby's - were awarded £2,567 and £37,975 respectively.