Katie Price’s ex-husband Alex Reid jailed for eight weeks after trying to con £61k from car insurance firm

KATIE Price’s ex-husband Alex Reid has today been caged for eight weeks after trying to swindle a car insurance firm out of £61,000.

The former cage fighter, 45, attempted to claim the compensation after his Audi A6 was involved in a car crash with a Seat Leon.

He said in his sworn statement a stranger on a motorbike had offered to be a witness after approaching him before police arrived on the A41 in 2018.

But Axa, who insured the Seat driver, discovered Reid knew kick-boxing champ Darren Summers and had trained him for his first fight.

They argued the Celebrity Big Brother winner should be jailed for “knowingly giving a false statement”.

The firm brought the case to the High Court for a committal hearing where he was convicted of contempt of court.

Reid was today caged for eight weeks but will serve half his sentence in prison and the other half spent on licence following his release.

It comes after The Sun exclusively revealed ex-wife Katie has now become engaged for a seventh time, to car dealer Carl Woods.

The court heard how Reid tried claiming up to £50,000 plus £11,500 “special damages” following the crash in January 2018.

But the judge said he likely would have received £20,000 if the bid was successful.

Tim Sharpe, representing Axa, said when the allegation of dishonesty was raised as part of Reid’s county court claim, he dropped the proceedings.

He argued the lie was “no mere slip” and instead to “set Mr Summers up, in the eyes of the insurance company and the court, as someone upon whose evidence they could rely as being unconnected to the parties, offering an independent account as to the circumstances of the collision”.

He told the court: “The false statement was designed to bolster (Reid’s) chances of proving his claim on liability… and thereby of recovering some or all of his claim for damages.”

Mrs Justice Eady said he made “a deliberate falsehood in which the defendant stood to make significant financial gain.”

She also rejected any suggestion he should be treated different because of his “celebrity”.

Reid is currently expecting a baby girl with fiancee Nikki Manashe.

In November, the couple confirmed that Nikki was four weeks pregnant with twins after a seven-year IVF battle.

But she tragically miscarried one of the babies in December.

His lawyer Gary Pons argued “kind, caring, loving” Reid should avoid jail as he is due to become a dad.

He described him as “an individual who has made mistakes, but whose intentions are always good”.

The barrister also said Reid, who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s since the crash, has been holding a self defence class in a sixth form college for students with autism and ADHD.

Reid married Katie in Las Vegas in February 2010 after seven months of dating and just nine months after divorcing Peter Andre.

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They met at Michelle Heaton‘s 30th birthday party at Cafe de Paris, in London.

But after just 11 months of marriage the pair split and were divorced in March 2012.

Reid also dated CBB winner Chantelle Houghton and the pair have a daughter, Dolly, together.