A FORMER Dorset Police officer has been jailed after defrauding the force out of around £150,000 when he claimed he was unfit to work.

PC Matthew James Littlefair, 36 and of Alderholt, was seen running with his dog, playing football with his children and cycling at a time when he was telling Dorset Police colleagues he was in chronic pain.

Judge Robert Pawson told Littlefair his actions “undermined the professional reputation of your colleagues” in a year which has seen more high profile cases of officers breaking the law lower public confidence in police forces.

The defendant, who since the offending has been diagnosed with functional neurological disorder, was jailed for two years and three months after pleading guilty to an offence of fraud by false representation.

A sentencing hearing at Salisbury Crown Court yesterday was told Littlefair misrepresented his physical and mental abilities between October 30, 2017 and July 16, 2020.

Prosecuting, Robin Leach said the defendant, who had been a police officer since 2008, was involved in a “minor crash” while off duty in late 2017.

He attended hospital reporting whiplash and back pain before he was off work and reported being unfit for duty.

Mr Leach said home working and reduced hours were experimented with in April 2019 but Littlefair said his pain was such that he could not carry out tasks.

In September 2019, based on information provided by Littlefair, a medical practitioner determined he could no longer perform his duties as a frontline police officer and he was offered an ill-health award, which required a formal review in five years’ time.

Littlefair appealed the decision, claiming it was unlikely he would be able to work again in the future and an appeal hearing was initially set for March 2020 but was subsequently delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He continued to receive his full salary during this period.

In February 2020, Littlefair told a police sergeant he was barely able to leave the house.

However, Dorset Police had suspicions after an assessment of his phone showed “considerable movement”.

The force launched a surveillance operation in spring last year.

The prosecutor said he was seen on multiple occasions leaving his house to the car, to go out with his children or to walk the dog.

“He was seen pushing his children on a rope swing and playing football with them,”said Mr Leach.

The court heard when messaged by a colleague to ask if his condition had improved, Littlefair said there was no change.

Officers from the professional standards department attended his home on May 13, 2020. Earlier that day he had been seen out running but presented as in severe pain when police spoke with him at his address.

Painkillers prescribed in October 2019 were found barely used.

On 36 days between March 24, 2020, and May 13, 2020, a health app on the defendant’s phone recorded he had taken more than 10,000 daily steps - equivalent to around five miles.

A hair sample taken from the defendant on July 13, 2020, showed no traces of the drugs he had been prescribed, which contradicted what he had told officers.

Mr Leach said the Department for Work and Pensions received a Personal Independence Payment application on February 5, 2020, in which Littlefair claimed he was unable to clean himself or perform tasks like lifting a kettle.

“None of this was true and the application was rejected,” said the prosecutor.

The court heard the gross sum of the fraud including salary, pension and HMRC contributions was in the region of £150,000.

Mitigating, Luke Ponte said it was a “tragedy” that a man of Littlefair’s high capability and potential had put himself where he had through his own actions.

Mr Ponte said his client deserved credit for his guilty plea, the remorse he had shown, including over the way his behaviour would “diminish the police in the eyes of the public”, his positive good character and the impact a prison sentence would have on him and his family.

“He’s a good man who made a catastrophic error,” said Mr Ponte.

Judge Pawson agreed with this submission but added “unlike some catastrophic mistakes made by people, it was a catastrophic mistake that he prolonged for three-and-a-half years”.

The judge said Littlefair “put on an act” when he was visited by the police sergeant.

Judge Pawson told the defendant: “This was in my judgement a quite deliberate course of conduct on your part. It was calculated.”

Littlefair showed a “degree of arrogance”, the judge said. He added: “In almost every barrel, in almost every walk of life, there is an apple or two that goes rotten. You have affected the reputation of the police service.”

The judge said: “It would be wholly wrong for me to ignore the fact that the police service is under immense pressure and there have been high profile cases of police officers breaking the law or behaving in a manner quite wrong.”

It was an aggravating feature that Littlefair had opportunity to desist from his crime, the judge said

The defendant’s lack of previous convictions, his good character, the impact of jail on his family and his own ill health were accepted as mitigating factors by Judge Pawson.

The court heard since his fraud, the defendant had suffered poor health and had been diagnosed with functional neurological disorder, which had affected him significantly.

The judge concluded the hearing by stating had he reached a sentence of two years or lower, he would not have suspended it as only immediate custody could reflect the seriousness of the offence.

Littlefair resigned from the force after pleading guilty, Dorset Police confirmed.

He will face proceeds of crime and misconduct proceedings at a later date.