Fictional policeman gets real jail term

A conman who named himself after a character from the Sherlock Holmes stories to pose as a police officer and steal from shops has been jailed.

Aaron Cowan, 24, took thousands of pounds in cash while wearing a fake police badge identifying himself as Greg Lestrade – the fictional police inspector from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective series.

He was handed a five-year jail term on Wednesday at Canterbury Crown Court after targeting shops across Kent in March and April.