STAFF at a “toxic” Bournemouth claims management company were put under “significant pressure” to generate leads, a court has heard.

A barrister acting for Aisha Elliott made the allegations about Elkador Finance Ltd - also known as Accidentally Injured - during a sentencing at Bournemouth Crown Court on Tuesday.

Elliott, 23, was working for the company when she and co-defendant Stephen Oates, of Lindsay Road, Poole, met at a party.

Oates, who was then working for LV=, began to sell confidential information to Elliott,

The court heard that the pair were paid £150 in return for every successful personal injury claim handed to Elkador, based in Dunbar Road. Oates, 26, made around £18,000 through the scheme in a year, while Elliott made an extra £13,500.

Initially, payments were made to Oates in cash. However, money was later sent directly to his bank account, allegedly through Elkador.

Both Oates and Elliott, of Mudford Sock in Yeovil, were sentenced to a year in prison after admitting a bribery offence.

Josh Normanton, mitigating for Elliott, said there was an “element of exploitation which applies in her case”.

“There was a significant amount of pressure to get ‘leads’,” he said.

“[The job] was a lifeline for her.”

He said Elliott had overcome a troubled childhood to become a law student at Bournemouth University and said some blame falls on “the toxic nature of Elkador Finance and the attitudes of those that run it”.

“I don’t allege [Elkador] were involved in bribery,” Mr Normanton said.

“[But] they created a work-based environment which was toxic, an environment which exploits those who are young and just entering the world of work.”

Elkador was fined more than £300,000 for breaches of the regulator’s code of conduct earlier this year. The company failed to prove claimant data was legally obtained, despite clear requirements set by the regulator.

It followed an investigation by the Ministry of Justice’s Claims Management Regulation Unit (CMRU).

The fines were part of an attempt to clean up the claims industry by the CMRU, which regulates companies that offer to help people claim compensation for issues such as personal injury.

Elkador’s MD Roy Hayden has refused to comment.