A JUDGE told a woman to be more careful about choosing her friends as he gave her a suspended prison sentence for lying to the police and an insurance company.

Kerry Louise Pape, 26, let her partner and convicted criminal Damon William Gray use her car, York Crown Court heard.

Peter Sabiston, prosecuting, said Gray crashed it head-on into another car seriously injuring two people and writing it off.

But when police called on Pape during their investigation, she claimed the car had been stolen and got a £3,700 payment from her insurance company by telling them the same.

Later she confessed to police that she had given two false witness statements because she knew Gray was on a suspended prison sentence. and didn’t want him to go back to prison.

Pape, of Tang Hall Lane, York, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and insurance fraud. She had no previous convictions.

Recorder Tim Roberts QC told her that perverting the course of justice always led to a prison sentence, but he could suspend her six-month sentence for 12 months on condition she did 12 months supervision.

He said: “Your choice of friend in Damon Gray has led to dangerous consequences in your life.

“I hope you have seen your errors. You jeopardised your family and your livelihood.”and your job.”

For her, Lee-Anne Robins-Hicks said she had paid back the £3,700, but she was being pursued for the £8,000 cost of the car that had been written off because Gray had not been insured and she had let him use her vehicle.

Ms Robin-Hicks said Pape had initially lied to the insurers to support her tale to the police when a policeman was listening and then felt trapped into continuing the lie. The theft lie had been Gray’s idea and she had felt under emotional pressure.

Gray, 27, of Constantine Avenue, Tang Hall, is currently serving a prison sentence of three years and three months after admitting two offences of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving without insurance and without a licence and failure to stop and breaching earlier sentences imposed for possessing drugs with intent to supply them to others and possessing drugs. He is also banned from driving for three years and must pass an extended driving test.