A COUPLE accused of making fraudulent insurance claims as part of an alleged 'crash for cash' conspiracy claimed to both be suffering from anxiety after they were involved in a car crash, a court heard.

Byron and Rachel Yandell's medical reports submitted for personal injury claims show that they had both been diagnosed with situational anxiety and had become "watchful and wary" when in a car following a collision they claim took place in 2009 when their Land Rover Discovery crashed into a Land Rover Freelander.

The couple are on trial at Cardiff Crown Court with four other defendants, three members of their family Michelle, Peter and Gavin Yandell and an associate Jennifer Cosh.

Byron Yandell, 31, Rachel Yandell, 30, both of Queen’s Road New Tredegar, Peter Yandell, 52, and Michelle Yandell, 51, both of Wheatley Place, Blackwood, Gavin Yandell, 29, of Clos Claerwen, Blackwood, and Jennifer Cosh, 39, of Pontygwindy Road, Caerphilly, all deny charges of conspiracy to defraud.

They face a total of 28 counts relating to separate car accidents that they claim took place between 2009 and 2011.

The Yandell family, who claim to have been involved in 15 crashes between them in two years, ran a repair centre called Easifix in Pengam, which is at the centre of the allegations.

The jury heard yesterday about two of the crashes that the prosecution claim were staged.

One of the incidents involved a Mitsubishi and a Land Rover Discovery on the junction of Waterloo and the B4069 New Road in Oakdale on August 8, 2009 and five people associated with the Yandell family.

Prosecutor Christopher Clee QC said: "The value of the claim put out by Aviva in relation to this matter is £37,803.73."

Witness PC Christopher Goddard, senior collision investigator at Gwent Police, said that the "damage to the Mitsubishi and the damage to the Discovery just do not match".

Another accident, which is alleged to have taken place on September 21, 2009 on the same junction as the previous incident, involved a Peugeot 206, driven by Byron Yandell, and an Audi A4 with three other occupants.

The crash saw Aviva pay out £11,151 and PC Goddard again told the jury there were inconsistencies with the damage on both vehicles.

The court was previously told the emergency services did not attend any of the alleged collisions and that many of the vehicles had "dubious histories" and a high mileage count.

Proceeding.