A YOUTH has been reprimanded by police after CCTV images showed that he falsely reported being the victim of a robbery in the city.

The 17-year-old male, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, contacted police in January claiming he had been robbed and threatened with violence close to Hereford Railway Station.

Five officers began to search for the apparent robber without success. The teen also pointed out the area where he said the incident happened.

But after checking CCTV cameras, police found footage of the youth walking from the railway station on his own, with no-one else around and no incident occurring.

He later admitted making the whole story up and apologised for wasting officers' time.

"Without the CCTV footage, we would have had an unsolved robbery offence with a good description of a suspect," said Detective Sergeant Tim Powell.

"An innocent person could easily have been arrested in connection with the robbery, just by fitting the description and being in the vicinity at the time.

"Thanks to the CCTV images, we were able to prove the offence had never happened," he added.

The youth was later reprimanded for wasting police time and for obstruction of police.