Fake injury wedding trio jailed

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A bridegroom and his parents who invented injuries to claim compensation after a minor crash on his wedding day have each been jailed for a year.

Andrew Singh, 26, his father Graham, 53, and mother Niramella, 49, were caught out when a video showed them dancing just hours after the accident.

Manchester Crown Court heard they tried to sue Hollins Travel for whiplash.

All three, from Old Trafford, had admitted perjury and conspiracy to defraud, at an earlier hearing.

Recorder David Heaton QC was told that on the day of the wedding, in July 2004, two of their wedding coaches were involved in minor crashes.

These three family members knowingly lied during a civil hearing in front of a judge Det Con Chris Harrison, Greater Manchester Police

The first collided with a car, with only the driver receiving serious injuries and the second coach crashed into a wall in the car park of the wedding venue in Preston, Lancashire.

The court heard that all of the guests involved in the collisions managed to enjoy the wedding party that evening.

Singh, the bridegroom, was even lifted up in the air and carried by the crowds while his parents danced on energetically.

Their deceit was only uncovered when the Singhs handed in the wedding video as part of their case against the travel firm, Hollins.

The Singhs tried to claim £1,500 for their fake injuries

They used it in their evidence against the coach firm to show they were on board the vehicles when they crashed.

However, shots of them partying after the footage of the collisions sparked suspicions.

The Singhs' attempts to claim £1,500 each for their non-existent injuries were dismissed by the civil court and instead they were each ordered to pay £73,000 in court costs.

The case was then passed to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Crown Prosecution Service who decided the three should face criminal charges.

Speaking after the sentencing, Det Con Chris Harrison said: "These claims may well have caused Hollins, a small, local company, to go bust.

"This was not only an attempt to make a false insurance claim for money; this was also an insult to the civil courts system. These three family members knowingly lied during a civil hearing in front of a judge.

"False insurance claims are criminal, fraudulent offences. The Singh family is lucky that the sentence was not more severe, as new legislation does not apply to this case."