THREE men who tried to carry out a fake crash-for-cash insurance scam have been spared jail after a court heard investigators never took them seriously.

Stuart Bizley, 22, claimed he had been involved in a rear end shunt near the Magic Roundabout with a car driven by 26-year-old James Griffin.

Both drivers said they had passengers who suffered whiplash-like injuries in the late night crash outside Burger King on Queens Drive.

And 21-year-old Kurt Giddings, who said he was in Griffin's vehicle, told insurers he needed treatment for a sore neck and back as a result of the accident.

But as soon as the men were confronted by suspicious investigators they admitted the collision had never taken place.

Claire Marlow, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court that Bizley contacted his insurers Aviva in August 2013 to say he had been involved in a crash.

He said his Citroen Saxo had been in collision with a silver Vauxhall Corsa and because of the size of his excess he wasn't claiming for damage to the car.

But he said a friend who was with him had been injured and the passenger in the other vehicle had also been hurt.

Miss Marlow said the case were handed to a company which manage injury claims and they suspected it was a false report.

They phoned Giddings and in a taped conversation he said he was in the stationary car when it was bumped from behind at about 10mph.

In the days after he said he had suffered a stiff neck and upper back limiting movement and he needed some exercises to help with it.

But when the men were confronted they immediately admitted that the 'accident' had never taken place and so no injury was caused.

They were questioned and Bizley made no comment but Giddings said he had been asked by a man he knew from the gym if he wanted to make some money in exchange for handing over some personal information.

He said he was told he would be contacted by an insurance company and the man who put him up to it was sitting with him during the call telling him what to say.

Griffin also talked of another man getting him involved, saying he would get £500, and telling him what to say.

He said that he pulled out when his girlfriend found out about it and told him not to be so stupid.

Bizley, of Saville Crescent, Wroughton, Giddings, of Euclid Street, and Griffin, of Capella Crescent, all admitted conspiracy to defraud in April and May 2013.

Rob Ross, for Griffin, said his client, who had a gambling problem at the time, was a 'model employee' in his job as a ground worker and had a partner and two children.

"He did something stupid. As soon as he gave any inkling about what he was getting himself involved in to his girlfriend she read the riot act and he desisted," he said.

Mark Sharman, for Giddings, said his client, who has a baby, was now pursuing a career as a personal trainer on a self employed basis.

George Threlfall, for Bizley, said his client was currently serving a short jail term imposed in Bristol for theft which took place after the insurance job.

He said his client did not have any 'criminal sophistication' and was not the man behind the scheme.

Passing sentence Judge Tim Mousley QC said: "This was a conspiracy that involved an entirely fictitious report of a road traffic collision.

"It is a fact that there was no gain to any of you and no loss to the insurance company and I bear that very much in mind.

"This was a fraud which involved a good deal of planning and each of you played an active part in it.

"Each of you fairly rapidly came clean about what happened and then cooperated in the investigation that took place. This was two years ago and each of you has moved on in that time."

He put Griffin on a one-year community order with a four-month curfew and banned him from betting shops for a year.

Giddings also got a 12-month community order with 250 hours of unpaid work and Bizley a one-year order with supervision and a thinking skills programme to start when he is released.

Tom Gardiner, Head of Fraud at Aviva, said, “The sentences for these three individuals show that fraud – no matter how small – will not be tolerated by Aviva.

"We will investigate all fraud, and will not hesitate to refer matters to the police for prosecution, as we did on this occasion. Our zero-tolerance attitude to fraud means that we minimise the impact of fraud on our premiums.

“These three men fabricated an accident which never took place in order to receive compensation for their injuries. Aviva detected the fraud, and after internal investigations, passed to IFED for further investigations and prosecution.

“Their prosecution underlines the fact that if you do commit fraud against our customers then it’s now very likely you will be caught, prosecuted and sentenced, giving them a criminal record and making it difficult for them to obtain insurance in the future.”