A man who claimed he was stabbed by a stranger because of his "neo-Nazi" haircut made up the story after accidentally cutting himself with a knife, police said.

Joshua Witt, 26, has now been arrested on false reporting charges after he admitted he lied to officers in Sheridan, Colorado, by alleging a black man had attacked him for having a haircut associated with white supremacists.

In a now-deleted Facebook post, Witt said: “Soooooooo apparently I look like a neo-Nazi and got stabbed for it.

“Luckily I put my hands up to stop it so he only stabbed my hand... please keep in mind there was no conversation between me and this dude I was literally just getting out of my car.”

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He told officers the man had approached him as he got out of his car near a burger restaurant and asked him "Are you [one] of them neo-Nazi?" before attacking him.

Witt told police his attacker was a black man in his mid 20s, who was wearing a green shirt and blue trousers and ran towards a bike path that runs along a nearby river.

However, when officers located a man who matched the description, who was homeless and lived nearby, Witt could not identify him in a line-up and he was cleared by police.

Surveillance footage taken near where Witt said he was attacked also failed to show anybody running from the scene.

But it did show Witt buying a knife at a nearby shop minutes before he was allegedly attacked.

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When he was re-interviewed by police, Witt admitted to accidentally cutting himself while in his car. He also admitted to making up the story about being attacked.

He was arrested and could face a fine of $2,650 (£2,050) and up to one year in jail if convicted of false reporting.