A so-called slip-and-trip fraudster has been given a suspended prison sentence after an insurance firm brought what is thought to be the first private prosecution of its kind in the UK.

Farida Ashraf, 41, pretended to trip over a crate of orange juice cartons in a Bradford supermarket and then tried to claim for her injuries, according to lawyers acting for insurance giant Aviva.

Former law student Ashraf, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was given a 21-month suspended sentence at Bradford Crown Court after pleading guilty to fraud, according to law firm Clyde & Co, which said it was the first private prosecution in the UK by an insurance company against a ‘slip-and-trip’ fraudster.

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Undated handout photo taken from CCTV issued by Clyde & Co of the entrance to a Bradford supermarket, where a woman pretended to trip over a crate of orange juice cartons in a supermarket and claim for her injuries. This photo shows the cartons before incident, where the floor was clear and footage showed no cartons blocking the floor. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Tuesday April 2, 2019. Ms Ashraf was given a suspended prison sentence. See PA story COURTS Trip. Photo credit should read: Clyde & Co/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
The orange juice was tucked behind a larger crate (Picture: PA)

The firm said Ashraf’s plan was ‘deliberate and premeditated’.

Aviva pursued the case after Ashraf’s original claim was thrown out of court in 2016, when CCTV footage revealed two female accomplices placing a pallet of orange juice cartons on the floor of Al-Halal supermarket so the defendant could pretend to stumble over it.

Ashraf waited eight months before making the claim in the hope that the CCTV footage would have been erased.

The firm said she sent a letter to the supermarket claiming for injuries that would have cost Aviva up to £60,000.

It said her claim included for injuries to her right wrist even though the video showed her falling on to her left wrist.

Undated handout photo taken from CCTV issued by Clyde & Co of the entrance to a Bradford supermarket, where a woman pretended to trip over a crate of orange juice cartons in a supermarket and claim for her injuries. This photo shows a pallet of the cartons now on the floor, which was previously unobstructed when the two women entered. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Tuesday April 2, 2019. Ms Ashraf was given a suspended prison sentence. See PA story COURTS Trip. Photo credit should read: Clyde & Co/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Then one of the accomplices pulled it out from behind the crate (Picture: PA)
Undated handout photo taken from CCTV issued by Clyde & Co of the entrance to a Bradford supermarket, where a woman pretended to trip over a crate of orange juice cartons in a supermarket and claim for her injuries. This photo shows one of the women who allegedly placed the pallet in the way of Ms Ashraf, the defendant, sending a text or taking a photograph of the pallet. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Tuesday April 2, 2019. Ms Ashraf was given a suspended prison sentence. See PA story COURTS Trip. Photo credit should read: Clyde & Co/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
She was seen sending a text message just a few seconds later (Picture: PA)

Damian Rourke, partner with Clyde & Co, who acted for Aviva, said: ‘Figures clearly show a significant increase in so-called slip-and-trip fraud. It’s important that businesses and the public know that insurers like Aviva will take proactive steps to deter and punish criminals who harm businesses and ultimately can cost staff their jobs.

‘There is a perception that nobody is doing anything about fraud – and I think it’s important that business know that insurers like Aviva are standing up for them.’

Richard Hiscocks, Aviva’s director of casualty claims, said: ‘This staged accident is a clear example of a fraudster trying to claim some easy cash – and she now has a criminal conviction to show for it.

‘Aviva takes a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and we’ll do everything we can to defend our customers against such claims.’

A spokesman for Clyde & Co said the two women who appear to place the pallet on the floor have yet to be identified and Aviva is keen to hear from anyone that can identify them.

Undated handout photo taken from CCTV issued by Clyde & Co of the entrance to a Bradford supermarket, where a woman pretended to trip over a crate of orange juice cartons in a supermarket and claim for her injuries. This photo shows the defendant in the case, Farida Ashraf, appearing to trip over the pallet of cartons allegedly placed by the two other women and extending her left wrist to stop herself from falling. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Tuesday April 2, 2019. Ms Ashraf was given a suspended prison sentence. See PA story COURTS Trip. Photo credit should read: Clyde & Co/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Ashraf turned around and ‘tripped’ over the cartons (Picture: PA)
Undated handout photo taken from CCTV issued by Clyde & Co of the entrance to a Bradford supermarket, where a woman pretended to trip over a crate of orange juice cartons in a supermarket and claim for her injuries. This photo shows Farida Ashfraf, the defendant, passing one of the women who allegedly placed the pallet of cartons in the way of Ashraf, passing each other in the doorway of the supermarket. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Tuesday April 2, 2019. Ms Ashraf was given a suspended prison sentence. See PA story COURTS Trip. Photo credit should read: Clyde & Co/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
She left the shop uninjured but claimed eight months later that she had been hurt (Picture: PA)