A woman who claimed she was subjected to a racist assault – telling the police and media she’d been targeted for wearing a hijab – has been fined for wasting police time after CCTV enquiries showed she made up the attack.

The 18-year-old reported being set upon by a man in New Street, near the Odeon cinema, at 7.30am on 23 November and punched in the face.

She suggested the assault was racially-motivated – triggered by the fact she wears a traditional Muslim head scarf – and that the incident left her afraid of walking alone in central Birmingham.

Detectives trawled CCTV footage in and around New Street and accompanied the teenager on a walk through the city centre to help her pinpoint the offence location. But after monitoring her movements they could find no evidence of the alleged attack.

She was handed a £90 fixed penalty ticket for wasting police time.