A motorist looking to insure his Vauxhall Corsa said he was quoted almost £1.2 million for the year.

Rhys Barker, 27, looked online to insure his 10-year-old motor, which he bought second hand for £1,400.

And when he queried the figure, he was helpfully told he could pay in monthly instalments of £104,000-a-month – for a slightly higher fee.

Mr Barker said he was stunned when he logged onto the Zenith Insurance website – and was given the quote of £1,165, 977.75p.

Mr Barker lives on Salford Quays development, near the BBC’s new MediaCity northern HQ.

But many parts of Salford and neighbouring Manchester have some of the highest motor insurance rates in the country because of car crime.

Gary Humphreys, group underwriting director at Markerstudy Group, which runs Zenith, told the Manchester Evening News: “The price Mr Barker was quoted reflects that we have ‘declined’ to provide cover, as we would not expect a customer to pay such a high premium.

“This is not a case of pricing customers out of the market but quoting on the risks that are within our rating parameters and declining if they are outside.”

No further details were available from the firm.