AN Eccles man has been sentenced to a 200 hour community punishment order after pleading guilty to falsely accusing a man of robbing him in Chadderton.

Lee Carl Gregory, aged 22, of Gilbert Street, was charged with an act of conduct likely to pervert the course of justice.

He was arrested with his co-accused, David Telenko, aged 23, of Broadway, Chadderton after allegations they made to the police were found to be untrue.

The pair claimed that on Sunday February 22, they caught a black cab from Manchester city centre to Broadway in Chadderton.

As they were paying the fare, they alleged that a car pulled up alongside them and the driver stole cash and one of their mobile phones.

Gregory and Telenko were arrested on Tuesday February 24 on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and eventually admitted they had made the whole story up.

Telenko was also sentenced to a 200 hours community punishment order.