A Hove man has been sentenced by a judge for impersonating a police officer.
John Paul Darcy, 44, of Sunninghill Close, Hangleton, admitted the charge at Brighton Magistrates’ Court when he appeared before district judge Tessa Szagun.
Darcy made a phone call during which he pretended to be “Detective Chief Inspector Banks” from the “Thames Valley Fraud Department”.
But he ended up being arrested by a real police officer from Sussex Police.
The district judge gave Darcy a community sentence and ordered him to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work over the next 12 months.
He was also ordered to pay an £85 victim surcharge.
