A YORK man has told how he almost lost his job and gained a criminal record after a suspected burglar stole his identity.

Craig Martin Coombs, 20, of Burton Green, Clifton, was horrified when he discovered that a man using his name and address appeared before York Magistrates charged with burglary - a case he read about in Thursday's Evening Press.

His job as a gardener for the NHS was even threatened.

City detectives quickly interviewed Mr Coombs when the mix-up came to light and were happy to set the record straight over the incident.

"Mr Coombs isn't responsible for the burglary and has now been eliminated from the inquiry," said Detective Sergeant Nigel Costello, of York CID.

But Mr Coombs claimed the deceit has not ended there because on Saturday he received a police letter and £45 fine claiming he urinated in the street outside Ikon and Diva nightclub - a second charge he strongly denies.

He said: "I haven't done anything wrong. I don't have a criminal record - I've never even had a caution. I don't even go to Ikon and Diva, so I have to speak to the police woman who dealt with the man so that she knows it wasn't me.

"I'm going to tell the police that I've got a tattoo on my back and next time someone gives them my name they need to look for that tattoo and then they'll know it isn't me.

"This whole thing could've been really serious, people think I'm a burglar and they have said to my dad 'I didn't know your Craig was like that'.

"It's given me a bad reputation."

DS Costello said of the burglary case: "Two males were arrested, one gave details that were correct, the second one gave details of Mr Coombs so he was dealt with under that name, charged with burglary and bailed to York Magistrates' Court under the name of Coombs.

"Somebody attended court and still insisted he was Mr Coombs."

DS Costello said that if Mr Coombs had not made officers aware of the false use of his identity, and if a conviction had been gained, he would have ended up with a criminal record, despite being innocent of the crime.

Updated: 11:12 Monday, July 21, 2003