Briton jailed for pretending to be policeman

A British man was jailed Friday for pretending to be a police officer over several years, even duping his wife, police said.

LONDON, January 8, 2010 (AFP) - A British man was jailed Friday for pretending to be a police officer over several years, even duping his wife, police said.

Stuart Howatson, 31, told guests at his wedding in 2006 that the chief of London's Metropolitan Police was due to join them and even set him a dinner place. Howatson explained his absence in his speech, blaming security issues.

The following year, he gave an educational talk in full uniform at a nursery school where a family friend worked, telling the children about police work and showing them police batons.

Howatson was arrested after a tip-off in October 2008, and police found uniforms in his home which he later claimed to have bought on online auction site eBay, a statement from the Met said.

He pleaded guilty at Worcester Crown Court in western England to possessing articles of police uniform and an offensive weapon, false accounting and fraud by false representation.

He also admitted possessing and making indecent images of children.

Describing him as a "common trickster and a conman", the judge sentenced Howatson to 20 months in prison.

"His behaviour has not only deeply affected his family and friends, but risked undermining the integrity and professionalism of genuine police officers everywhere," added the Met's Detective Inspector Claire Moxon.