A man from Oxford has been sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of making false statements about a vehicle accident.

Ryan Corbett, aged 43 and residing in Derwent Avenue in the Headington district, appeared before Oxford Crown Court on March 18.

Judge Michael Roques imposed two concurrent sentences for the offences committed.

The convictions related to an incident involving a leased BMW.

The court heard that on September 4, 2022, Corbett was dining with relatives at Joe’s Bar and Grill located on Banbury Road in Summertown while the vehicle was involved in a collision at Mortimer Drive in Marston on the same date.

An individual who witnessed the crash reported seeing Corbett exit the automobile following the impact.

The witness stated that the defendant returned to the vehicle to retrieve a mobile phone from the footwell before departing the scene.

A jury at Oxford Crown Court returned unanimous guilty verdicts on February 4 after approximately 20 minutes of deliberation.

The defendant had contested both charges of fraud by misrepresentation and perverting the course of justice.

During sentencing, the presiding judge determined that the nature of the offending behaviour warranted immediate imprisonment, stating that no alternative penalty could adequately address the seriousness of the crimes.