Police community support officer and her husband jailed after falsely reporting their Range Rover was stolen from Yorkshire Dales beauty spot

Fiona Price, 33, worked as a PCSO for West Yorkshire Police in Leeds, and had applied to train as a detective. Both she and her husband Darren, 37, were jailed for three months at Bradford Crown Court on Friday after admitting the charge. Mrs Price was also fined £1,800.

The bizarre case began last August, when Mrs Price claimed that the family’s Range Rover had been stolen from a lay-by in Burnsall, a Yorkshire Dales beauty spot, after they had been on a walk. She told police that they were able to make the report from a restaurant after charging their phones in a friend’s car.

Initial enquiries were carried out by an officer from North Yorkshire Police who had concerns about the legitimacy of the report. It was then passed on to West Yorkshire Police’s Counter Corruption Unit after it was confirmed that Fiona Price was a police staff member.

Investigating officers found discrepancies in her and her husband’s account of what had taken place, and they were both arrested. They had actually travelled to Burnsall in a completely different vehicle.

Detective Chief Superintendent Nicola Bryar, of West Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate, said:

“Former PCSO Price has never offered any explanation for her actions. Honesty and integrity are fundamental values for anyone working in policing. For someone involved in the criminal justice process to fabricate a crime is simply unacceptable and taken extremely seriously by the force.”

The couple, of West Ardsley near Wakefield, submitted a bogus insurance claim for the car because they were facing a £2,000 repair bill from a garage.

Darren Price arranged for the Range Rover to be disposed of and it was never recovered.

West Yorkshire Police added: “Fiona Price resigned from her position while under investigation. Following conclusion of this court case, misconduct proceedings will now resume to ensure she is added to the College of Policing’s Barred List, which prevents her from gaining further employment in policing.”