A QUARTER of robberies in Bolton have been made up by their "victims".

Police figures show that 32 of the 127 robberies reported in Bolton since April have been written off or reclassified because they were bogus.

Now police are cracking down on the false reporting of robberies in the town because it takes valuable resources away from dealing with real crime.

Hoaxers found guilty of false reporting could be fined or even sent to prison.

Sergeant Martin Bell, of Bolton central police station, said: "People are making false reports for a wide range of reasons.

"Many involve lost mobile phones being reported as stolen because the claimant is covered by insurance."

In some cases, people with debts were putting in bogus insurance claims.

Sgt Bell said others had spent holiday money on gambling or prostitution, then panicked and pretended they had been mugged.

But, whatever the reason, Sgt Bell said it was irresponsible and a waste of police officers' time.

"We are being delayed from investigating genuine crimes because of this problem and I want to send out a clear message to anybody considering making a false report that they will be found out and action will be taken against them," he said.

Sgt Bell said that if people admitted they had made up a robbery claim when an officer first queries a report, no further action would be taken.

But, after that, there was a sliding scale of action to be taken, depending on how much police time had been wasted.

If an investigation had begun, an £80 fixed penalty notice would be issued.

If an investigation had led to an arrest, the person making the false report would be arrested and prosecuted.