AN innocent man was arrested after a woman falsely claimed she had been robbed.
Detectives investigated and discovered she was making the whole crime up.
The 21-year-old woman now has a criminal conviction and police have warned other people they face prosecution if they make up false claims they have been robbed.
Bogus claims include people who say their mobile phones have been stolen to get a crime reference number. They give this to their phone providers in a bid to get a new, usually upgraded, mobile phone.
Others reckon cash has been stolen - again to get a crime reference number to try to get benefits cash paid again or to claim on their home insurance.
The 21-year-old woman claimed in December that she had been robbed at gunpoint in Lindley.
She made up the crime to try to cover the fact she had lent some money.
But the description she gave police of the 'robber' led them to arrest the innocent man.
The woman kept up the pretence for several days, until detectives realised things just did not add up.
In the end the woman was arrested and admitted making the whole crime up.
The offence was deemed so serious that the Crown Prosecution Service charged her with wasting police time and she appeared before Huddersfield magistrates.
She was fined, but the maximum penalty for such an offence is six months in jail.
Det Con Neil Dunne, of Huddersfield CID robbery team, said: "We take robberies extremely seriously and they will be thoroughly investigated.
"Over the last few months we have seen more and more people coming forward and reporting bogus crimes.
The Lindley 'robbery' was the final straw.
"We spent a lot of time on this case and as it unfolded things just did not ring true.
"It was a total waste of our time, when we could have been focusing on genuine victims.
"If people make false reports they will be found out and face prosecution."
