A TEENAGE trickster from York who convinced aviation bosses he was a tycoon with designs on setting up his own airline has struck again.

The 17-year-old, whose exploits have been compared with the conman airline pilot who was depicted by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film Catch Me If You Can, has hosted a two-hour meeting with PR executives at a Manchester hotel in a bid to persuade them to promote his imaginary aviation business.

He was rumbled when, under the name Dominic Edwards, he met public relations executive John Butters at the City Inn hotel.

Mr Butters, a director at Macclesfield-based Bell Pottinger North, said he saw through his claim that his “no frills” airline was to start flights between Manchester and Jersey.

He told The Press there were “holes” in his story.

“It just didn’t add up,” he said. “He was very plausible, he knew his stuff and looked older than his age, but my experience in the aviation industry helped me to smell a rat. I looked him up when I got back to the office and realised who he really was.”

He said the boy had showed him an article from The Press in July, in which we reported how a teenager calling himself Adam Tait, said to be autistic, had created fictitious fellow executives of his “airline” and set up fake websites to bolster his story he was a tycoon. He said “Dominic” said he was not Adam but a manager for the company, which needed to recover from such damaging PR.

In the summer, we reported how “Adam’s” hoax was uncovered by the industry magazine Airliner World. The episode ended at Southend Airport, where the youngster had apparently set up a meeting with an aircraft leasing firm, as he prepared to board a 93-seat plane his “company” wanted. Essex Police said then that officers and security staff at the airport had refused a man access to the airside section of the airport but no offences were committed and police were taking no further action.

No one was available for comment at Adam’s York home over the weekend.