EPIDEMIC OF CHEATS

Number of uni students submitting essays bought online reaches récord levels. Web firm sells 2000-word piece for £176 guaranteeing 'a pass and 'no plagiarism. Experts predict return to end-of-year exams and claim some degrees are worthless

- MARK McGIVERN

SCAM artists are flogging essays to Scots university students for almost £180 that "guarantee" them a pass.

The fake papers on offer have resulted in a cheating epidemic at some of the country's top educational institutions.

The Daily Record has uncovered shocking new figures showing some universities have reported offences rising by more than 1000 per cent in recent years.

Fraudsters at internet-based "essay mills are targeting Scots students after it was outlawed in England a year ago but remains legal north of the Border.

Academics and senior politicians have demanded a legal crackdown and warn that the integrity of our top universities is under threat due to the rise of scammers and the unscrupulous students who copy work online.

Our investigation uncovered a range of "essay mills" offering services to Scots students.

The UK-Assignments.com website comes near the top of Google searches for "UK essay service".

We were quoted £176 for a 2000-word politics essay by the firm, topically titled "Evaluate the Success or Failure of Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister of Scotland".

We spoke to boss Nigel Blair, making clear we wanted our essay done from scratch. He assured us the service was 100 per cent legal and he guaranteed we would not get caught. He said: "We have a 100 per cent plagiarism check and we guarantee you will pass. We have people who work in universities in Scotland who earn money on the side by doing this work for us, so there is no danger of failing.

A check of Companies House shows that a Nigel Blair is the sole director of a company called UK Assignments Ltd, a dormant firm which was voluntarily liquidated last February.

When the Record confronted Blair by phone, accusing him of immoral and unethical behaviour, he claimed essays provided are to assist learning.

He said: "We provide model answers.