Four people have gone on trial accused of being part of a £500,000 "cash for crash" insurance fraud.

A jury at Carlisle Crown Court heard that the huge scam was masterminded by Carlisle man Mark McCracken, 47, who used numerous fake identities to lodge fraudulent insurance claims after imaginary crashes.

He has already admitted fraud.

The case before the court involves four people accused of working with McCracken to lodge bogus claims, part of a series of 13 allegations involving insurance payouts of £239,000.

The value of the entire fraud, though, was £500,000, said Mr Evans.

In the dock were Robert Skelton, 39, from Ruleholme, Irthington; Diane Dutton, 41, of Marsh Street, Barrow; Andrew Dawson, 47, of Harrison Street, Barrow and Sarah Dawson, 45, of Angle Meadow Lane, Barrow.

All deny fraud.

Tim Evans, prosecuting, said the case involved insurance claims for “fake” car crashes at locations in Carlisle, Silloth, Millom and Wigton, where McCracken's family lived.

“You will hear that all of the charges are just part of a pattern of overall criminality,” he said.

“The insurance scam was organised by Mark McCracken. He used false names to claim against other drivers, the 'fault' drivers' insurance.

“He set up false names and identity documents and false bank accounts for the purposes of these frauds.”

Mr Evans said the crashes involved had characteristics indicative of fraud: older cars written off after their mileage was reduced; cars packed with “fantasy” passengers who then made personal injury claims; claims for hire cars and a pattern of the emergency services never being called for any of the crashes.

Claims were generally made within days of the insurance being set up, said Mr Evans, and it was this which first raised suspicions.

The barrister listed examples of the cars involved and explained how they had mileage wiped off their official records. They included a BMW, whose mileage dropped by 213,000 miles when it was involved in the “fake crash”.

This meant McCracken, who paid just over £5,000 for the car at auction, got a payout of £9,800 thanks to the lower mileage.

Mr Evans also outlined the bogus names created by McCracken for the claims, including Mark Carlton, Paul Rudd, Charles Glasgow, Michael Barnfather, John McVey, Steven Herbert and Arnold Johns.

When a police officer listened to the recorded calls to insurance firms from these people to report the accidents, he identified McCracken's voice.

The barrister said the jury would hear about a family home used by McCracken in Wigton, where there was a “hidey hole” behind a mirror. In this, police found documents for the false identities.

But, said Mr Evans, the jury's task in the trial was not to pass judgement on Mark McCracken, of Castlesteads Drive, Sandsfield Park, Carlisle. It was to try the four defendants in the dock.

McCracken's admission of guilt did not mean they they were guilty. But the Crown's case was that the defendants were part of the scam, said Mr Evans.

The “fake” crash which Skelton was fraudulently involved in is alleged to have been on January 17, 2012 while the “fake” crash involving the other three defendants is said to have happened on January 27 that same year.

The trial is expected to last for three weeks.