Beresfords Solicitors is based in the proud South Yorkshire railway town of Doncaster but, these days, it seems that its staff prefer to let their plane take the strain.

The Times revealed yesterday that payments made by Beresfords to two companies associated with the Union of Democratic Mineworkers are the subject of an investigation by the Fraud Squad.

Clare Walker, who earned £260,000 last year in salary plus bonus as the head of claims at Vendside, a claims- handling company wholly owned by the UDM, owns a £110,000 Bentley Continental GT and drives a £61,000 company BMW.

Miss Walker, 41, also owns a company called Indiclaim whose receipt of payments from solicitors’ firms — some of which have themselves earned millions of pounds by settling claims handed to them by the UDM — forms a major part of the police inquiry.

She and Mick Stevens, the UDM vice-president, had been due to entertain several solicitors at the Henley Regatta this weekend.

The UDM’s sudden withdrawal of invitations for this long-scheduled trip to one of the most exclusive events of sport’s social calendar was revealed to the disappointed guests yesterday.

In the space of a few years, Beresfords has transformed itself from a small practice based in a shabby Doncaster side road to a major national player with a £4.8 million headquarters at a lakeside business park.

The firm’s senior partner, Jim Beresford, 55, likes cars, and colleagues have often been regaled with tales of his two Aston Martins and his Ferrari.

He and his wife, Linda, 53, are now the proud owners of a Super Kingair plane, perhaps the most precious bauble yet bought by the professionals who service the coal health compensation scheme.

The seven-seat, American-built, turbo-prop is based at the private Gamston Airport, a 15-minute drive from the office.

“It is used for corporate travel,” David Conway, of Beresfords, told The Times yesterday. “We go round the country and get some executives to meetings. We are a rapidly growing organisation. We are looking at acquisitions and developments. It made sense to us.”

The jet is owned by Beresfords Aviation, a limited liability partnership registered this April. Its members are Mr and Mrs Beresford. Mr Conway emphasised that the plane was not actually owned by the solicitors’ practice.

The Super Kingair, said to be a favourite with passengers, boasts rich fabrics and leathers, polarised windows and a quiet, spacious interior, including a refreshment bar.

Mr Beresford’s plane was built four years ago. When nobody in the office needs it, the turbo-prop earns its keep by being rented out at £800 an hour.

Mr Conway was unable to say how unusual it was for a law firm to have a private plane, although it is known that a few City corporate practices can boast such a perk. “The rest of the time the aircraft is used by third parties,” Mr Conway said.

“We have someone who deals with the hirings. Ultimately, we would say it would cover its operational running costs and save us travel costs.”

The plane, registration number G-SGEC, has been seen by planespotters at airports around Europe including Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Edinburgh and Brussels.

Beresfords’ senior partners are Mr Beresford, his daughter Esta, 27, and Doug Smith, 48. The company has been paid almost £30 million for settling compensation claims for dead or sick miners and could potentially receive £100 million more from the public purse.

Mr Beresford’s own profits in 2002 and 2003 totalled £1.4 million. Mr Smith sold a house near Doncaster in November 2003, three months after buying Grade II-listed Noble- thorpe Hall, near Barnsley, for £840,000. He has also spent £200,000 in the past few weeks on two cars: an Aston Martin DB9 and a Bentley Arnage.

The Government expects to pay out a total of £7.5 billion in compensation from the coal health scheme.

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