THREE of the country’s top four hotspots for ‘crash for cash’ insurance scams are in East Lancashire, it has been revealed.

Gangs are believed to be behind the staged smashes which con insurers and honest drivers out of millions of pounds every year.

The area around the Trafford Centre, near Manchester, is the country’s top location for the scams, according to insurance giant Direct Line.

But three separate sections around the M65 took the second, third and fourth spots.

At the East Lancashire sites, as many as one in 25 smashes could be being staged by fraudsters.

The research has led a prominent road safety charity to demand courts hand over harsh sentences to criminals who stage the 'horrifying' mock crashes, said to cost insurers £350million a year.

The accidents typically involve criminals braking suddenly, causing innocent drivers to hit the back of their cars.

Insurance claims are then made for bogus injuries and a large amount of damage to the vehicles.

Ellen Booth, campaigns officer for road safety charity Brake, said: “It is simply horrifying that anyone is willing to purposely cause a crash to claim insurance fraudulently.

“This is an incredibly serious issue and anyone found intentionally putting themselves and other innocent drivers at risk by causing crashes should face serious consequences under the law.”

Bosses at Direct Line, one of Britain’s top motor insurers, used data from Bolton-based law firm Keoghs and their own records to find where drivers were most likely to become victims of crash for cash scams.

Number one in the Direct Line list was Centenary Way, close to the Trafford Centre.

But the second most likely spot was Blackburn’s Haslingden Road roundabout at junction five in Guide, followed by the Scotland Road, Nelson, roundabout at junction 13.

And the fourth spot was occupied by the Gannow Top roundabout at junction 10 of the M65 in Burnley.

Other towns and cities in the Direct Line top 10 included Stockport, Preston and Hemel Hempstead.

Keoghs said the number of staged crashes in East Lancashire had risen in the past year, although it had reduced as a percentage of total smashes.

Industry sources said around one in 25 bumps on the Guide roundabout was suspected to be fraudulent, compared with around one in 50 in the Nelson and Burnley hot spots.

Kate Lotts, Direct Line’s director of specialist claims, said: “Crash for cash scams pose a significant risk to public safety. As well as adding to the cost of insurance, they delay payouts on genuine claims as any reported accident at a known scam site has to undergo additional investigations.

“Just the actions of a few, can cost motorists a significant amount of money and pose a real threat to people’s lives.”

Shavaun Glen, from the Motor Insurance Bureau, which helps compensate the victims of crash for cash scams, urged drivers to report suspected fraudulent claims.

She said: “The industry has joined together to tackle this and insurers are doing things behind the scenes like sharing information on people who stage these crashes.

“They are taking a zero-tolerance approach, people are being caught and that benefits honest drivers in the long run.”

Lancashire Police said it was committed to working with insurers to tackle crash for cash scams in the county.

Last year, Mohammed Patel was jailed for four-and-a-half years at Bolton Crown Court for staging crashes across the North West.

Accomplice Musharaf Dean was jailed for 18 months.