A bus driver hated his job so much that he filed a false report to police about a hold-up in the hope he would be found out and sacked.

Espedito Said, 38, of Nadur, leaned against a wall and cried when he left the courtroom after Magistrate Audrey Demicoli conditionally discharged him for two years.

Mr Said reported to police on Thursday evening that he had been the victim of a hold-up, in which €200 had been stolen. The ‘incident’ allegedly occurred at Ġnejna Bay when he was on his way to Ċirkewwa while doing the afternoon shift.

He stood in the dock, looking rather pitiful, and admitted filing the false report.

His lawyer, Steve Tonna Lowell, told the court that his client confessed he had made up the story because he was just desperate to leave the job he hated.

In submissions on punishment, Police Inspector Tony Cachia, prosecuting, informed the magistrate that Mr Said made an admission to police almost immediately and had assisted them with their inquiries.

Dr Tonna Lowell said his client’s actions were motivated by desperation to leave his job.