A teenager picked up a telephone call from the police - on a mobile phone her boyfriend had reported stolen three days earlier.

On December 27, a 17-year-old boy from New Addington alleged that his 16-year-old girlfriend had been robbed of her £150 mobile in Bromley at around 5.30pm.

But after scouring CCTV footage police could not find any evidence of a crime.

And a call by officers to the missing mobile confirmed the whole incident had been made up when the ‘victim’ answered the phone.

Bromley police’s Detective Sergeant Gary Gornell said: "I am disgusted at the waste of valuable time.

“The police are aware that a dishonest minority of people are intent on making false reports.”

The 17-year-old was handed a £80 fixed penalty notice for making a false report.