What Van? Britain's biggest and best van buyers' guide

A third of deliberately staged, insurance scam accidents are targeted against light commercial vehicles, according to anti-fraud firm ACU and commercial law practice Hill Dickinson.

“This is yet another example of how criminal fraud gangs are becoming more sophisticated,” said APU’s director of investigative services Neil Thomas. “They are thinking quite hard about exactly who they target on the roads.”

He said that light commercial drivers were often “pushed for time”, so would be more likely to simply exchange insurance details and move on. They are also more likely to be fully insured.

Currently, almost 70,000 annual personal injury claims, one in seven, are linked to so-called ‘cash for crash’ accidents.

The Ford Transit is the most targeted light commercial, attracting more deliberate accident attempts than popular cars including the Vauxhall Astra and Ford Focus. The Transit is followed by the Mercedes Sprinter, Vauxhall Vivaro, Citroen Berlingo and Volkswagen Transporter as likely LCV victims of “induced” accidents.