A bricklayer was within a flake of jail after taking part in a £100,000 cash-for-crash scam - with a Mr Whippy ice cream van.

Barry Sandmann, 39, lied to his insurance group Allianz he had been in a crash with the van in February 2014, and tried to bill them £23,000 for repairs.

The forged claim led to investigators unravelling the fraud, as inspectors looking at the van recognised it from a different claim months before.

They found it had been used to stage three crashes, including Sandmann’s, which would have cost insurers a total of £100,000.

Sandmann, of Brompton Lane, Strood, also lied about a genuine accident to try and get cover for damage caused to another van when he reversed into it in December 2013.

He took out an insurance policy with Allianz 45 minutes after the crash, and lied about when it actually happened so he could bill them £4,000.

But his story was proved false when the other driver produced time-stamped images of the damage in April 2014.

"You had clearly involved yourself with other people in this wholly dishonest scheme. All of us have to pay a high premium because of dishonesty such as this" - Judge Rebecca Poulet QC

He pleaded guilty last month to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, and one count of fraud.

At the Old Bailey on Friday he was handed a 12 month suspended sentence.

Passing sentence, Judge Rebecca Poulet QC said: “This was all completely false.

“That same ice cream van had in fact been used in two previous insurance frauds, something that became obvious when the experts looked at it and saw it had precisely the same mileage.

“You had clearly involved yourself with other people in this wholly dishonest scheme.

“All of us have to pay a high premium because of dishonesty such as this.

“It seems to me however that this is a conspiracy that you are charged with, and therefore in my judgement I regard it as intended loss, rather than just a risk of loss.

“You were persistently dishonest in respect to these two matters, and I regard them seriously.”

Prosecutor Anita Avora told the court he had refused to give police the name of others involved in the cash-for-crash scam.

She said: “He did seem genuinely shocked in regard to two things. One, in the value of the false claim.

“And that the insurers had already paid out £15,000 for an incident involving the same van.”

In mitigation, Nina Ellin, defending, said: “He was shocked by that amount.

“Clearly he knew there was a risk of loss, but quite the amount he got himself involved in is, in my submissions, not something he intended.

“He was a paid hand in this conspiracy. He was paid to put the claim through his insurance.

“It’s with great regret and shame that he finds himself in court in this position.”

She said he got involved because he was unable to get much work as a bricklayer at the time.

She added: “That trade can fluctuate with the times, can fluctuate with the seasons.

"He found himself succumbed to the temptation of this fraud" - Nina Ellin, defending

“He found himself succumbed to the temptation of this fraud.”

He was also given a supervision order for 12 months, made to pay a £100 victim surcharge and will have to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.

Sandmann was also handed a 12 month suspended sentence for the second count, which will run concurrently.

Speaking after the case, DC Paula Doyle, who investigated the case said: “In the space of two months, Sandmann not only tried to take out a policy to cover him for an accident that had already happened, but then tried to facilitate a crash for cash scam so that others could profit.

“We’re still keen to hear from anyone who may have seen the ice cream van involved, or knows who owns it, as there are others involved in setting up this scam that we have not been able to identify.

“Thanks to the good relationships and information sharing between IFED and the insurance industry, what first appeared to be an isolated incident has been uncovered as an organised scam and we’re determined to try and identify and bring all those involved to justice.”

Anyone with information should contact IFED on 020 7164 8200 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.