St Ives: Man Locks Himself Out, And Pretends He Was Burgled

26 November 2013, 06:48 | Updated: 26 November 2013, 10:15

A man who claimed he had been burgled in a bid to get a housing association to pay for his broken door has been fined for wasting police time.

Craig Grant 28, had forced his way into his home in Gainsborough Drive, St Ives, during the summer after locking himself out.

But the housing association refused to pay for the repairs because he had caused the damage. So a few weeks later, in July, he called police claiming to have been burgled in a bid to get a crime reference number.

A police investigation into the alleged break-in uncovered his previous calls to the housing association and several witnesses had seen him forcing the door to the property. He was reported for wasting police time and convicted of that charge at Huntingdon Magistrates' Court on Thursday (November 21).

He was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £250 costs and £141 compensation.

Detective Constable Emma Garwood said: "This man made up a fictitious crime in a bid to get out of having to pay to repair the door he had damaged.

"As with all crimes, we fully investigated his claims. This took up vital time which would have been better spent carrying out policing work.

"We will not tolerate false reporting and this case shows that anyone who thinks such behaviour is acceptable could end with a criminal record."