Say yes to cheaper van, home and car insurance

A man has appeared in court after admitting to fraudulently claiming that his car had been stolen.

John Bannister from Buckinghamshire told police and his insurance provider that the vehicle was taken by thieves, when in fact he had asked a friend to store it in a garage for him.

Mr Bannister then claimed for the theft on his car insurance, receiving a total of £6,850, reports the Bucks Free Press.

He would have got away with it had it not been for police attending to another matter at a farm in Wigan in March this year.

They found a Land Rover and ran a check on it, only to discover that it was the vehicle which had been reported stolen.

The farm owner was arrested for theft before telling police that Mr Bannister had asked him to store the car.

"It came about after he purchased this vehicle for a lot more than he claimed. It was not very long before things started to go wrong," said Mr Bannister's lawyer in court.

"The engine broke and he didn't have the money required for a new one and so some bright spark suggested he could report it as stolen.

"He says as soon as he put the phone down he regretted it and when the cheque arrived he didn't do anything with it," he added.

Mr Bannister has been ordered to appear in court again on September 6th.

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