A Dutch dentist who amputated his own finger and attempted to convince insurers that it had been severed in a car crash was fined €25,000 yesterday for the failed fraud, Reuters reports.

The unnamed 50-year-old snipped off his pinkie before piling his car into a tree in Belgium. He claimed €1.8m from insurers, saying the finger had been chopped off by the vehicle's steering wheel.

However, the master fraudster had failed to consider the forensic evidence, which showed "the shape of the cut on his index finger, the level of anaesthetic in his blood and the absence of skid marks on the road" pointed to a scam.

A court spokeswoman said: "It was not an accident but an amputation he carried out himself, or he had someone do it for him."

As well as the hefty fine, the man also received a six-month suspended jail sentence and 240 hours' community service for his trouble. ®