Regulators scrutinised 53 claims management companies in the last quarter in connection with potential breaches of the referral fee ban.

The Claims Management Regulator, run by the Ministry of Justice, said 13 of the audits resulted in warnings.

The payment or receipt of referral fees in personal injury cases was banned in April 2013, but lawyers continue to allege that the practice is commonplace.

In its update for July to September this year, the CMR said it has continued to closely monitor CMCs operating in the personal injury market.

The number of CMCs in operation before the ban stood at almost 1,900: by the end of September it had fallen to around 800.

The regulator revealed it has executed a warrant at multiple premises connected to a personal injury CMC. Evidence obtained from these raids is currently being reviewed.

The CMR said preventing fraud remains a ‘primary concern and key area of action’ and it is working with police to disrupt criminal operations.

Meanwhile, police today confirmed they had successfully prosecuted a driver who brought a false claim following a minor collision in a car park in Deeside, Wales.

James Young, 33, claimed on behalf of himself, his partner and three children for personal injuries.

But CCTV showed not only that just two children were in the car, but also that neither Young nor his partner were present at the time of the collision.

Footage showed Young running back into his car having witnessed the incident, then emerging holding his neck as if he had been injured.

Young pleaded guilty at Mold Magistrates Court and was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.

Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt said: ‘James Young saw an opportunity to use a minor crash in which he wasn’t involved in order to defraud LV= Insurance of thousands of pounds.

‘He didn’t anticipate that the insurer would investigate and that they would then pass the case through to a detective unit entirely focused on catching insurance fraudsters.’