60 snared in probe into £3m ‘cash for crash’ scam

The fraud was so bad that people living in Derwentside, County Durham, where the main players behind the scam were based, had to pay up to £100 extra for their car insurance.

Police uncovered the scale of the fraud while investigating the activities of members of the Wright family, from Burnhope, who came to national prominence in 2009 when two local streets they had named after themselves were changed by officers in a bid to bolster public confidence.

Concerns over local organised crime led to a major investigation assisted by the Insurance Fraud Bureau and other agencies.

They looked at 1,800 accidents handled by two particular firms and swiftly identified 261 which looked suspicious. Investigators suspected some were entirely fictitious, some staged and some vastly exaggerated.

They identified 25 accidents which were considered to have the highest impact resulting in more than £514,000 being obtained for the claimants. The real figure was estimated to be more than £3m.

A series of trials have led to 60 people being convicted or admitting to being involved. Seven were members of the Wright family.

Judge Roger Thorn yesterday lifted an order which prevented the media from reporting the proceedings.

Key players included 40-year-old Paul Jonathan Wright, who ran PJ Autos, a recovery, storage and vehicle hire business. He is yet to be sentenced for his part in the scam which involved making false claims for storing damaged cars and hiring out replacement vehicles at up to £200 a day.

Also involved was his older brother Alan, 49, who was jailed for four years after a trial last year. A police source described Alan Wright as the head of the family, and he was found to have had four fake crashes within just 10 months.

Chief Supt Rob Coulson said: “This fraud is affecting every honest law-abiding car insurance holder. It’s not just a local issue. We believe this to be a nationwide issue which needs to be tackled robustly.”