BURY police police are cracking down on people who make false crime reports.

Using new legislation, bogus crime "victims" could be issued with £80 penalty notices as an alternative to prosecution by the courts.

The crackdown comes after a number of people, including two men from Radcliffe, were charged after making false robbery claims.

Superintendent Peter Scofield, deputy commander of Bury Police, said: "Here in Bury, specially selected police officers are deployed to provide an immediate response to reports of street robberies, and to gather as much evidence as possible at an early stage. Other officers then investigate the offences very thoroughly.

He continued: "Sadly, these thorough investigations have revealed that some people are prepared to waste valuable police time in making false reports of crime for their own reasons.

"These people divert police resources from helping genuine victims of crime, and we will not hesitate to deal with them as firmly as we can."

In March, a 51-year-old man from Radcliffe was made a subject of a 12-month rehabilitation order, ordered to attend remedial classes and made to pay court costs after falsely claiming he had been robbed of cash, a mobile phone and prescribed drugs.

A warrant was issued against another Radcliffe man who had been charged with knowingly making a false statement and wasting police time after claiming he had been robbed.

In another case, a 15-year-old from Prestwich was reprimanded after saying that he had been slashed across the face when his mobile phone was stolen. He was later found to still have the phone.

He admitted cutting his own face in an attempt to convince the police and his parents that he had been robbed, rather than revealing that he had been to a party against his parents' wishes.

Two further police investigations into false reports of robbery are currently underway.

Supt Scofield said: "Making a false report of crime, and making false statements, are themselves criminal offences, and there is a range of options, including prosecution, for the police to deal with those responsible.

"Under recent legislation, the Chief Constable has authorised the use of 'penalty notices for disorder' for a range of offences, including wasting police time by giving false reports.

"This means that people who make false reports of crime may be issued with penalty notices for payment of £80, as an alternative to prosecution.

"The police at Bury will have no hesitation in issuing these notices to anyone who interferes with the process of tackling street crime, and assisting genuine victims, by falsely reporting that they have been robbed."