POLICE officers who responded to a call of a man injured in a hotel in Hardgate were told that he had been stabbed and robbed.

The cops were suspicious of injured Jamie Docherty's claims and when they investigated they were found to be false.

The 21-year-old had cut himself with a razor blade at the Westhills Hotel on July 6, 2014 but told police that someone had entered his room and stabbed him.

Docherty, who now lives in the Colston area of north-Glasgow, was appearing at Dumbarton Sheriff Court to be sentenced for falsely representing that he had been the victim of an assault and robbery causing the police to investigate and depriving the public of their service, and rendering others liable to suspicion of an assault and robbery.

He was also to be sentenced for failing to appear at the court on September 23 last year.

Referring to a background report prepared by the social work department, defence solicitor Tom Brown said that there was a strong recommendation in it for his client to have a community payback order imposed on him.

Sheriff William Gallacher imposed such an order with the conditions that Docherty be supervised for the next 18 months and that he attend alcohol and drugs services as required by his supervising officer.

The sheriff added: "It seems to me you could start to do something useful with your life rather than hang on to other people's coat tails."