THE boss of a van hire firm has again appeared on television as he continues his fight against crash-for-cash scammers.

Former councillor Stuart Lever, who owns U Drive, in Blackburn Road, Bolton,was a guest on the BBC’s Rip Off Britain.

He appeared alongside Ben Fletcher of the Insurance Fraud Bureau and described a fraudulent claim made against his firm.

Mr Lever has twice previously appeared on The Victoria Derbyshire Show as well as a Channel Five documentary and a number of radio shows.

The 48-year-old says he is ‘almost turning into the national spokesperson for crash for cash’ fraud as he aims to bring the problem to the fore.

He said: “I’m doing it so that people are aware it’s not a victimless crime and to point out that you can get caught. The work I’m doing is to increase the profile of this problem.”

He added: “One broker said I was on a crusade, and I think I am. It is a crusade and eventually it will be get stopped and it will be me behind it.”

Mr Lever says his premiums jumped by almost half when the scam was at its height nearly 10 years ago.

And he adds that scam - which involves insurance fraudsters staging or inducing crashes - is being stamped out by vehicle trackers and insurers’ investigations.

But after being faced with claims of up to £85,000 by scammers himself, he is on a mission to put and end to the scourge for good.

He said: “The main thing that got me going is that it is costing us a lot of money - 42 per cent one year - but it’s not just that, it’s the pure theft of it.

“It hits businesses very hard, they’re the ones that tend to pay the big premiums. But it also affects normal people — people who are barely getting by. Their premiums are rising for the benefit of fraudsters and it’s simply not fair.”