Fraudster who staged fake accident in supermarket to claim personal injury compensation caught on CCTV

Hilarious CCTV captures the moment when a con artist slowly tumbles to the ground in a supermarket. In the video, Teresa Birch is seen taking a dive in the aisles of the Food Warehouse, out of the sight of staff and other shoppers.

Fraudster’s plans backfired

Birch then tried to make a personal injury claim against supermarket chain Iceland Foods - but the fraudster's plans backfired once the CCTV came to light. Birch has now narrowly avoided jail and been ordered to pay over £17,000 in court costs after being convicted of contempt of court.

She had said she was involved in an accident after “her foot caught in the loop handle on the sack” of a bag which had been left out, at the store in Paignton, Devon, on January 2 last year. Birch then attempted to claim £10,000 compensation for injuries to her right knee and left hand, submitting a Claims Notification Form through lawyers on February 21 last year.

‘Crystal clear’ CCTV evidence

However, the supermarket denied liability and shared CCTV footage which they stated made "crystal clear" the accident was planned and staged. Birch's lawyers promptly ceasing to act on her behalf and she was hauled before a court herself.

Conwoman avoids jail

She was handed a four week custodial sentence, suspended for twelve months, and also ordered to pay Iceland’s costs, which are in excess of £17,000. Iceland Foods legal director Duncan Vaughan said: “We and other retailers are sadly often faced with fraudulent or exaggerated claims which can be difficult to defend.

In this instance we had strong evidence in the CCTV footage, which meant that there was no other reasonable explanation for the defendant’s actions other than deliberately staging an “accident” in order to make a claim against us.”