A man who pushed his car into a lake to defraud insurers of £6,000 to help pay for fertility treatment has received 200 hours of community service.
Darren Mawer and his girlfriend Paula Thompson pushed their BMW into a lake in June 1999 and then told Chaucer Insurance and Ibex Motor Policies it had been stolen during a burglary.
They had hoped to use the insurance payout to cover their third attempt at IVF treatment.
But the scam was uncovered when a passer-by spotted them at the lake.
On March 16 Grimsby Crown Court sentenced Mawer to 200 hours of community service and ordered him to pay £6,326 compensation. Thompson received 12 months' probation.
They had both pleaded guilty to counts of furnishing false information and Mawer also pleaded to obtaining a money transfer by deception.
However, their not guilty plea to obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception was accepted.
