A 58-year-old man has pleaded guilty to fraud after he submitted a false insurance claim to Hertfordshire County Council.

The Potters Bar man appeared in St Albans Crown Court heard last Friday, September 11, to plead guilty to one offence of fraud by false representation.

In September 2017 Paul Hardy of Field View Road, Potters Bar, claimed that he had damaged his vehicle on an overhanging bush while driving along Mutton Lane in Potters Bar, the matter was investigated by the Shared Anti-Fraud Service.

In support of his insurance claim to Hertfordshire County Council, he submitted an invoice for the sum of £1,350 for vehicle damage, which he claimed to have already paid.

The council’s insurance team felt there were some anomalies with his claim and with the invoice provided, it was found that while Hardy had driven through a hanging bush, he had rectified the vehicle damage himself and created the false invoice to make a financial gain.

He was ordered to pay a £200 fine, plus £770 in costs and a victim surcharge.

Herts county councillor Ralph Sangster, cabinet member for resources, said: “This was a deliberate fraud against the council to gain financial gain and take money aware from those who need it most.

“The council, alongside the Shared Anti-Fraud Service, remain committed to investigating and prosecuting offences of fraud.”

Anyone with information about any fraud against the council, including housing, council tax or Blue Badge fraud can report it in confidence by visiting hertfordshire.gov.uk/reportfraud or by calling the Shared Anti-Fraud Service hotline on 0300 123 4033.