If you were the owner of a £47,000 BMW, what would you do with it? Well, whether you took it on a track day, a driving holiday, or even just used it for the school run, it would be a much better use of the car than this British fireman who has torched his £47k BMW in an attempt to commit insurance fraud.

Sentenced to Five Years in Prison

Anthony Murray, aged 43 from Wigan, has recently been jailed for five years after being found guilty of trying to commit insurance fraud. As a former fireman, it seems even more beyond comprehension that he should commit such an act, but on Tuesday he pleaded guilty of conspiracy to commit arson and two counts of fraud.

Time in prison, however, was not his only cost. Despite being awarded a Chief Fire Officer’s Commendation in 2010 for saving the life of a 77 year old woman, Murray was suspended from his job while an investigation took place and, as a result of the trial, he has now been dismissed.

In addition to Murray’s punishment, his accomplice Gareth Collier (33) has been jailed for 2 years and 3 months after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to commit arson, attempting to pervert the course of justice and having an offensive weapon.

A £23,000 Payout Plan

Collier set fire to the car that had been left at Mr Murray’s workplace while he left on a hoax 999 call to cover his tracks; he stood to cash-in over £23,100 from the insurance pay-out. Police, however, became suspicious when they traced the hoax call Mr Murray attended back to a number registered to Mr Collier’s partner and were even more suspicious when they found out that on the night of the incident, Mr Collier had gone to hospital with a burn on his hand.

The judge said that the pair were “greedy individuals” and that the scam was “pre-meditated, carefully planned fraud.”

Are You Covered?

Another fireman has his car ruined in the blaze and, thankfully, his car was insured for the cost but what if it hadn’t been? It isn’t possible to insure your car against everything, but cases like this underline the importance of getting comprehensive car cover.

Comprehensive cover will give you better peace of mind so, if you’re unsure, it is well worth upgrading your policy. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

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