THREE bungling fraudsters were caught out when a car they claimed had been written off in an accident was spotted driving down the M6 two days later.

Aamir Raja, 32, and his father Shaukat Ali, 67, both from Manor Park, teamed up with accomplice Altaf Hussain, 44, to stage a fake collision between two BMWs.

The crooks then attempted to extract nearly �19,000 from insurers Churchill in repair and replacement costs.

But the scam was exposed when crash scene experts laughed away Hussain’s claim that his foot had slipped onto his accelerator, causing the smash.

And the story was undermined further when the second BMW was caught on CCTV driving without a scratch.

All three men appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court on Friday (12/11) after they owned up to their roles in the scam.

Ali and Hussain both received suspended sentences, while Raja – the main instigator of the scheme – will be sentenced next month.

Passing sentence, Judge John Price said: “It was thoroughly dishonest, and these sorts of claims are rife.

“I take very much into account the shame you have brought on your families.”

Ali received a three month prison sentence suspended for a year with a six month curfew order preventing him from leaving his home between 9pm and 6am.

Hussain was sentenced to seven months imprisonment suspended for 18 months and told to carry out 100 hours of community service, after he admitted an extra charge of perverting the course of justice by lying in his police interview.

Both were ordered to pay �680 costs.

Prosecutor Frederick Ferguson told the court that Ali and Raja told their insurers Churchill that their BMW had been written off in an accident on April 20, 2009.

Their claim forms stated that Ali had been at the wheel and Raja in the passenger seat when another BMW crashed into them in Coventry.

Raja claimed the car was so badly damaged he had to climb out of the driver side window after the accident.

Mr Hussain, who was named as the driver of the other car, said that he had been stationary in the side road when his foot “slipped onto the accelerator”, causing the car to drive into the side of the other vehicle.

He also said that his car had been written off, although he did not make an insurance claim.

Raja and Ali submitted a claim for �8,820 for the value of their car, and �9,874 for the cost of hiring a replacement: a total of �18,694.

The false claim was exposed when an insurance company expert examined Ali’s BMW and ruled that the damage to it could only have been caused when it was stationary.

Meanwhile a police crash scene investigator informed the firm that if Hussain’s foot had slipped in the way he had claimed, his vehicle would simply have rolled forward gently.

Subsequent investigation revealed that Hussain’s car had been seen driving down the M6 on April 22, 2009.

Following his arrest, Hussain lied to police, stating that he had been involved in the crash and had called a friend to give him a lift away from the scene of the accident, a story easily disproved when officers went to speak to the man he had named.

Mohammed Hossain, representing Ali, argued that it had been Raja who had been the main mover in the fraud, contacting the insurance company and hiring the replacement car.

He said his client, who has four children and eight grandchildren, had never been in trouble before and had been persuaded to let his son use his car in the scam

Jabeen Akhtar, for Hussain, told the court her client was the sole carer for his sick wife and daughter, and said he had not made any financial gain from the fraud.

Ali and Raja, both of Browning Road, admitted fraud, while Hussain, of Leamington Spa, admitted fraud and perverting the course of justice.