A BLACKWOOD man accused of making fraudulent insurance claims has alleged in court that his son caused further damage to his car after it was involved in an accident.

Peter Yandell, aged 52, of Wheatley Place, through his barrister Harry Baker, was attempting to explain why there were inconsistencies in the damage caused to his Jaguar when it was allegedly involved in an accident on the B4251 New Road in Oakdale with a Renault in 2009.

Peter Yandell is on trial for being at the centre of an alleged 'crash for cash'' insurance scam at Cardiff Crown Court with five other defendants, his wife Michelle Yandell, 51, also of Wheatley Place, his son Byron, 31, and daughter-in-law Rachel Yandell, 30, both of Queen's Road, New Tredegar, his other son Gavin Yandell, 29, of Clos Claerwen, Blackwood and their associate Jennifer Cosh, aged 39, of Pontygwindy Road, Caerphilly.

They face a total of 28 counts relating to separate car accidents that they claim took place between 2009 and 2011. All deny the allegations.

PC Christopher Goddard, senior collision investigator at Gwent Police, said damage on the Jaguar and Renault did not correspond with each other.

Mr Baker, defending Peter Yandell, said his client was in that Jaguar and it was in a genuine collision, Byron Yandell recovered it and damaged the vehicle without Peter Yandell's knowledge.

Byron Yandell's barrister Robin Shellard said the extra damage was from two collisions rather than one.

Proceeding.