A 57-YEAR-OLD man who staged a fake robbery at a railway station has been given an 18-month jail term.

Moses Kamara was a ticket clerk at Sydenham station when he told police he had been tied up at knifepoint in the station's office by a man who then stole £9,069 from the safe.

However, forensic evidence proved the robber was in fact his son, 24-year-old Alfred Kamara.

The pair tried to get away with the money but an investigation by British Transport Police (BTP) thwarted their plans.

Investigating officer Detective Inspector Matt Wratten said: “Very early on in the investigation it was clear the account from the so-called victim did not add up.

“As our inquiry progressed it soon became clear we were looking not at a robbery, but rather a botched plan which involved a father and son out for financial gain.”

Moses Kamara had claimed a man carrying a knife bound his head with tape and tied his wrists with cable before forcing him to open the safe at 6am on January 26.

Another member of staff alerted BTP and detectives seized a number of items for forensic analysis, including the cable tie used to bind his wrists.

DNA analysis indicated saliva on the cable tie almost certainly belonged to a close relative of Moses Kamara.

He was arrested on April 30 and his son was arrested the following day.

Today at Southwark Crown Court Moses Kamara, from Whitechapel, was jailed after pleading guilty to a charge of conspiracy to steal.

His son, also from Whitechapel, admitted the same charge and was given a two-year supervision order along with 200 hours' community service.