Aviva executive Andrew James Ward has been jailed for four months for expenses fraud, the York Evening Press reports.

Ward, who has head of key accounts management at the insurer's York offices, claimed expenses for cricket matches and journeys he had not made, and claimed for himself Marks & Spencer vouchers that were intended as staff bonuses.

At York Crown Court, Ward pleaded guilty to a £19,426.65 expenses fraud and asked for an attempted fraud of £3,654.50 to be taken into consideration.

47-year-old Ward had worked at Aviva for 25 years and had an annual salary of £89,000, the court was told.

Aviva was alerted to the fraud by an anonymous tip-off.

In a statement issued to the paper, Aviva said it was satisfied with the court's findings, adding that the insurer takes a "zero-tolerance" approach to financial crime of any kind.

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