A Lancashire man who claimed he was knifed by a clown has been fined for wasting police time.



Simon Chinery, from Blackburn, said he was stabbed in the hand by a man wearing a green curly wig, black eye make-up, a red nose and red beard.

Police say the 28-year-old actually hurt his hand falling on broken glass.

In a statement Lancashire Police said: "After looking into this report we have established that the man was not attacked by a clown and had in fact injured his hand falling on broken glass.

"We are aware that widespread media coverage of this allegation may have been unsettling for local residents and we would like to reassure the public that no crime has taken place on this occasion.

"We have now issued a 28-year-old man from Blackburn with a penalty notice for wasting police time.

"We work extremely hard investigating serious crime and our time needs to remain focused on genuine incidents."