Gloucestershire drivers fall victim to 'crash for cash' scammers

Drivers were told they had damaged a vehicle's wing mirror and had to pay for repairs

Hundreds of pounds has been handed over to suspected 'crash for cash' scammers who conned drivers into thinking they had damaged their car, say police.

Three incidents were reported in the Reservoir Road area of Gloucester and Brooklyn Road in Cheltenham on Monday.

Police said motorists reported hearing a noise from the passenger side of their car and being approached by two men claiming they had hit their car.

The men then stated a fee for the damage to be fixed.

On all three occasions victims either handed over cash or travelled to cashpoints to withdraw money.

Gloucestershire Police said motorists had pulled over on hearing the noise to check if something had struck their car, with two men then approaching them to claim the wing mirror on their own vehicle, described as a five-door silver saloon, had been struck.

The men were described as being white and both spoke with an Irish accent.

One was aged in his mid-to-late 40s, of a stocky build, with short shaven hair which was greying.

The other man was younger and described as being of a medium build with brown hair.

Gloucestershire Police are warning motorists to be vigilant to crash for cash style scams and to not hand over money.