Footage of "bears" breaking into luxury cars in California was actually a person in a bear costume in an alleged insurance scam, police said.

The California Insurance Department said four Los Angeles residents were arrested on Wednesday, accused of defrauding three insurance companies out of nearly $142,000 (£112,000) by claiming a bear had caused damage to their vehicles.

They are accused of faking video from the San Bernardino Mountains in January of a 'bear' moving inside a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes to the insurance companies for damage claims, alongside 'scratches' on the seats and doors.

But the insurance company viewing the Rolls-Royce footage suspected something was amiss, who then enlisted a biologist - who said it was "clearly a human in a bear suit".

Detectives investigating the alleged scam found two additional claims and with two different insurance companies for the same date and location.

They say they found similar footage of the 'bear' inside the Mercedes vehicles.

Detectives then discovered a bear costume in the suspects' home after executing a search warrant, the department said.

The four suspects have been identified as Ruben Tamrazian, 26, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39.

They have all been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy.

Bears breaking into homes or trash cans in search of food have become a problem in California.

In some areas, they have even been known to raid refrigerators and take dips in backyard pools and hot tubs.

The California insurance department detectives said they were helped by the Glendale police department and the California highway patrol in their investigation.

The San Bernardino county district attorney's office is now prosecuting the case.