PCSO claimed her Range Rover was stolen because repairs cost too much in bogus insurance plot

Former West Yorkshire Police officer Fiona Price and her husband have been jailed after they faked the theft of their Range Rover and submitted a bogus insurance claim.

The former PCSO and 33-year-old mum-of-three – who was based in Leeds for the force – has been jailed for three months for the stunt. Bradford Crown Court heard on Friday that Price’s career is now in tatters as a result, and she had resigned from her role. It was said she had been on a training scheme to become a detective constable.

The court heard the vehicle had become “a burden” for the couple and in August last year it was taken to a garage where the cost of repairs was estimated to be about £2000. Price’s husband Darren, 37, arranged for an associate to “dispose” of the vehicle and it was not seen again after August 6.

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But two weeks later Fiona Price made a false report to North Yorkshire Police saying the Range Rover had been stolen from a lay-by while the family had been out walking in the Burnsall area. Prosecutor Jonathan Sharp said Fiona Price also submitted an insurance claim for the vehicle and gave the company the same story.

Mr Sharp said it had been an entirely false story from the outset adding: ”It was a planned attempt, initially successful, by each of these defendants to paint a wholly false picture and it was motivated by the fact that the Range Rover needed repairs.”

Suspicions were raised about the theft report and checks on automatic number plate recognition equipment and phone cell-site evidence revealed the couple had travelled to Burnsall in a relative’s Renault Clio.

The pair, of West Ardsley, Wakefield, were arrested in August last year, but during another interview in November the pair criticised the police officers investigating their report and accused them of causing the couple embarrassment and stress.

In July the couple both pleaded guilty to the perverting the course of justice charge and on Friday, September 22, Recorder Alex Menary was told sudden bereavements and family turmoil had affected their behaviour at the time of the offending.

Barrister Glenn Parsons, for Fiona Price, said it was a sad case in which two otherwise intelligent and hard-working people had entered into an escapade that was bound to fail. He suggested the couple had suffered a “catastrophic breakdown” in their thinking.

Mr Parsons said Price had faced disgrace adding: ”The career she held so dear is in tatters”. He said she had qualified to be a detective constable and had a bright future ahead of her.

The defence barristers submitted that the judge could suspend any prison sentence, but Recorder Menary said they had thrown everything away over an unwillingness to pay for the repairs to the car.

He told the couple: “Rather than pay for the repairs you agreed to make a false claim for theft on the insurance policy.”

Recorder Menary said their audacity in criticising the investigation “beggars belief” and he found it hard to believe that the offending was impulsive. He said he shuddered to think how much police time and resources were spent investigating a theft that never was.

The judge said: “This was calculated and planned offending. It was not spur of the moment. It was an attempt to defraud your insurer. This case cries out for a deterrent sentence in my judgement. As an act of mercy I reduce the sentences to three months. They will be served immediately.”

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