text: A sales manager who claimed he was left too disabled to work after a 'minor' road accident ten years ago has been accused of attempting a £600,000 fraud - after being pictured out in a coffee shop with his celebrity friend Max Clifford. Kevin Morgan, 55, of Weybridge in Surrey, was injured when  a Land Rover Discovery reversed into his stationary Rover 75 while he was working in Dorset in September 2005. The married engineer suffered whiplash, which developed into chronic pain syndrome and a resulting deep depression, which together have ended his working life, his lawyers claim. But as his £600,000 damages claim began at the Central London County Court, he was accused of a staggering fraud by motor insurers, Direct Line Group. Kevin Morgan (pictured right) was filmed meeting up in a coffee shop with his friend Max Clifford (pictured left). Morgan claims that a car accident in 2005 has left him in too much pain to leave his home regularly . William Featherby QC, for Direct Line, said Mr Morgan had been put under surveillance and shown to be far from the disabled wreck he claims to be. He could be seen out walking, joking with a builder, striking up conversation with a stranger, crouching to fix the light on his car and as part of a gathering of friends – including disgraced PR guru Clifford – in a coffee shop. 'We submit that the surveillance evidence shows no sign of disability or distress whatever; rather, it just shows a normal man of Mr Morgan's age,' said the barrister. 'The court can properly find that he has been and is exaggerating deliberately to an unconscionable degree.' The court heard Mr Morgan claims he is in so much pain, particularly in his neck, that he only rarely leaves his house. But the QC said he had been watched by private investigators on 12 random days over three years up to 2013 and seen leaving his house on 10 of those days. 'On the 10 days, you were out and about, walking briskly and behaving perfectly normally,' he told Mr Morgan. 'When we see you on those 10 occasions, your neck doesn't go into spasm. It's lies.' Mr Morgan is pictured outside Central London County Court where the fraud case hearing continues . Questioned on the difference in his demeanour on the day in the coffee shop and in court, Mr Morgan said one had been a 'good' day and the other 'bad'. 'I'm not a dishonest person and I feel like it's almost like I'm on a murder charge,' he told Judge David Mitchell. 'I feel like I need to clear my name.' His barrister Simon Browne QC said the surveillance footage shown in court actually backed Mr Morgan's case. 'It reinforces Mr Morgan's post-accident limitations, as his daily life has been reduced to a 1,350 foot radius around his home,' he said. 'The footage proves that he no longer participates in the maintenance and DIY activities that were once such a large part of his life.' The court heard that, before the accident and until 2009, Mr Morgan had worked as a senior accounts manager for a tools manufacturer. He was a golfer and especially houseproud, keeping his home and garden in an 'immaculate' condition, doing bricklaying, carpentry, plumbing and decorating himself. He and his partner of more than 30 years, Deloris, holidayed often, visiting Greece, Germany, Turkey and various destinations in the UK. The accident, and its after-effects, put an end to all that, Mr Browne told the judge. Neck pain progressed to headaches, with blurred and double vision. His sleep was badly affected and he had numbness in his hands. A consultant psychiatrist who assessed him said his depression was most likely to have been caused by being told his chronic pain was 'likely to be incurable', he added. Experts said he would probably never work again and was more likely to remain in a 'retired' lifestyle, even at only 55 years old, he continued. If his claim was really fraudulent, he had managed to pull the wool over doctors' and other specialists' eyes for years, said the barrister. And, by taking such a claim to court, he was risking losing his home if it went against him, Mr Browne added. However, Mr Featherby said the accident was 'not serious' and 'low impact', occurring when another driver reversed into Mr Morgan's car as he sat stationary in a residential street. It displaced the bumper from his car, but he put it back on with the help of another and did not need to take any time off work immediately afterwards, said the QC. He said Direct Line accepted the accident was genuine and that Mr Morgan initially required attention for his injuries. However, the QC is focusing his specific allegation of 'fraud' on the time after 2009, when Mr Morgan was made redundant from his job. Mr Morgan strongly refutes Direct Line's accusations. The hearing continues.
target: Motor insurers Direct Line Group put him under video surveillance .
  He was filmed meeting his friend Clifford and pals in coffee shop .
  But the claimant argues footage proves he does not go far from home .
  Lawyer says client ventures no further than a 1,350ft radius from house .
  Engineer tells how injuries from accident put an end to his active life .