A father has been charged with wasting police time after he apparently claimed on Facebook his children’s Christmas presents had been stolen.

Michael Farquhar, 33, reportedly called police to say that gifts for his three children had been stolen from his flat in Paisley days before Christmas.

He further warned in a post on Facebook that ‘some scum is breaking into houses and stealing.’ Police investigating the alleged theft became suspicious of Farquhar after speaking to him.

‘At around 11.20am on Tuesday, officers attended Dunn Street in Paisley, to make enquiries into a reported theft,’ said Paisley Inspector Stuart Thomson.




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‘After carrying out door-to-door enquiries, a 33-year-old man has been cautioned and charged with wasting police time.’

The social media posts asked for help replacing the ‘stolen’ items for his one-year-old, three-year-old and six-year-old.

‘If I can get help, it would be so appreciated,’ the post read.

‘I can meet you somewhere tomorrow, if that’s okay?’

Neighbours offered to help. One local newsagent said he would ‘sort out’ the father-of-three with ‘help getting your kids presents.’

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