A Plymouth man who broke his girlfriend's leg as part of an attempt to claim £100,000 in a fraudulent personal injury scam has been jailed for 3 years.
Former chef, Gordon Thompson and his then girlfriend Elizabeth Hingston came up with the scheme after watching a "no win, no fee" TV ad. Hingston took Valium and drank a bottle of Pernod to numb the pain before Thompson placed her leg between two bricks and jumped on it with both feet.
Miss Hingston needed surgery and spent six months on crutches following the incident - she was not charged for her part in the scam, despite admitting to police that she had encouraged Thompson to deliberately break her leg.
Police launched an investigation after finding a mobile phone with footage of the incident along with paperwork filled out to send to Plymouth Council to make a claim during an unrelated drugs raid on Thompson’s home. The couple had planned to claim that injury had been caused when a wall had fallen on her.
Thompson admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent during the incident.