A man who tricked police into thinking he had been robbed of nearly £2,000 at knife point has been sentenced.

Syed Ishaaq Ali Shah pleaded guilty to wasting police time and theft by an employee at Croydon Magistrates Court on December 9.

Shah, who had called police in August to say he had been held up at knifepoint was caught out when police checked CCTV footage.

The 27-year-old had claimed he was sitting in his company van outside A&J Mini Market in Hackbridge when a man opened his passenger door demanding money.

Shah claimed £1,700 he had collected as a bailiff had been stolen.

After giving police a description of a made-up man, Shah proceeded to drive around Hackbridge with officers to try and find the faux-thief. Police forensics experts examined Shah's van but decided to check CCTV after finding nothing.

Police realised no robbery had taken place and charged Shah with theft employee and wasting police time.

Shah, of Colliers Wood, was ordered to do 160 hours unpaid work and £85 in costs.

Detective constable Kate Elson, who led the investigation, said false reports divert police from their serious work of catching criminals and bringing offenders to justice.

“This was a deliberate act to trick police into believing that a robbery had taken place. We found no robbery. This call wasted a lot of police time and resources which could have been much better spent disrupting criminal activities and catching real criminals.”