BOLTON is still one of the worst hotspots in the country for “crash for cash” scams, new figures show.

The town has been named as the ninth worst place for it in the UK, the charity Crimestoppers has revealed.

Bolton had previously been singled out as a place where large rises in fraudulent claims had been made.

It follows on from a number of high-profile arrests of Bolton criminals who profited from insurance claims after causing road crashes.

Bolton lies behind Bradford and Birmingham in the top 10 list — but London, Liverpool and Manchester all feature below Bolton in the top 20.

The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) and Crimestoppers have now launched a campaign to stamp it out.

The campaign involves revealing “crash for cash” hotspots to encourage people with information about bogus claims to come forward.

IFB director Ben Fletcher said: “Far from being a victimless crime, crash for cash scams hit motorists in the pocket and put other road users in harm’s way.

"While the hotspots show where fraudsters are prevalent, the reality is that staged accidents can happen anywhere and at any time.

“Working with police forces across the country, we’ve secured over 850 arrests to date and information from the Cheatline will help us bring more of these criminals to justice.”

Crash for cash scams involve criminals targeting innocent, unsuspecting drivers with the intention of staging crashes to make claims against them.

Collisions can be caused by making unnecessary emergency stops at busy roundabouts or slip roads, forcing drivers to crash into them. The fraudsters often create fictitious passengers and injuries.

The crime costs policyholders more than £390 million each year.

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Hugh German, from Bolton and District Advanced Motorists, said: “Fraudulent actions like this affect all of our insurance premiums.

“Bolton has always been a bad place for this type of crime. I was under the impression figures for the country were going down due to a stricter approach to whiplash claims.

"I think that has helped and it should already be making a difference to insurance premiums.”

Many of the crimes are being spearheaded by organised gangs who make hundreds of claims.

Mohammed Patel, of Nottingham Drive, Halliwell, was one of the most prolific crash for crash criminals when he was jailed four years ago for causing 93 crashes deliberately.

He was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Former Bolton garage owner Richard Beswick was jailed in December, 2011, along with three other men for their part in a £50,000 crash insurance con.

Two years ago, junction 4 of the M61 in Farnworth made it into fourth place on the UK list of shame for the most bogus crash claims in the country by insurance firm Direct Line.

The list also featured junction 5 of the M61 leading to the A58 in Westhoughton, Watergate Lane in Over Hulton; and Manchester Road.

Crimestoppers' director of operations for Roger Critchell, said: “This is a serious and organised crime that funds other crimes, including weapons and drug smuggling.

"For this reason I would urge anyone who has information on those committing these premeditated incidents to contact Cheatline anonymously.

"We don’t want to know who you are, only who the fraudsters are.”

Cheatline can be contacted on on 0800 4220421 or at crashscam.co.uk.