A NELSON man has appeared in court in relation to a £170,000 ‘crash for cash’ scam in West Yorkshire.

Ansar Mahmood, 31, was in the dock at Bradford Crown Court alongside four men and a woman from Keighley.

The six were charged following a lengthy investigation by the City of London Police’s insurance fraud enforcement department.

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Prosecutors allege the scam centres on a ‘contrived collision fraud’ on dates between January 2011 and February 2014.

Mahmood, of Manchester Road, has denied charges of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and conspiracy to acquire criminal property.

He was remanded in custody and his five co-defendants, who also entered not guilty pleas, were released on bail ahead of a trial hearing, expected to begin in Bradford on August 3.

Mahmood’s co-accused include Mohammed Farooq, 27, of Spencer Street, Israr Hussain, 31, also of Spencer Street, Fozia Kausar, 31, of Red Holt Crescent, Shazad Shad, 30, of Edensor Road and Muhammad Taj, 41, of Victoria Avenue, all Keighley.

Shad is also charged with possessing a weapon used for the noxious discharge of a gas, namely a CS spray.

All six are alleged to have made false representations to law firms and insurance companies, claiming they were genuine policy holders, in respect of personal injury claims totalling £167,246.

Mahmood is also accused of conspiring with the other five to acquire, retain, use or control criminal property, namely £37,059 in cash over the same time period.