Dudley canal jumper fined after falling on his face

A man sparked a huge police investigation after claiming to have been stabbed by a group of thugs - but had actually injured himself by falling into a canal he had tried to jump across.

The 19-year-old was so embarrassed about what had happened that he made up the story and called police in order to avoid telling his family the truth about his failed stunt.

He has now been fined £80 for wasting police time.

Detectives launched an investigation in May after the 'victim' called to say he had been approached by three men in hooded tops on a canal towpath in Coseley.

He told officers that they had stabbed him in the chin with a 10 inch knife and thrown him into the canal before running away.

As part of the investigation, police carried out a high-tech forensic examination on his step-father's phone and found footage of the man jumping across the canal.