A police officer has been jailed for defrauding his force out of £150,000 - after an app on his mobile phone showed he had been taking 10,000 steps a day while claiming he was too injured to work.
For more than two years, PC Matthew Littlefair claimed full pay and other benefits while 'putting on an act' that he was so badly hurt he 'couldn't even lift a kettle' following a minor car crash.
But a covert surveillance operation was launched after colleagues became suspicious and had spotted him out playing football with his children, walking his dog, going jogging and riding bikes.
When investigators examined his phone they found he had repeatedly been recorded taking 10,000 steps a day - the equivalent of five miles - while claiming he was not able to work.
Jailing the 36-year-old for two years and three months, a judge condemned Littlefair for his 'arrogance' and said his crime would damage public confidence in the police, comparing it to to the murder and rape of Sarah Everard by Metropolitan officer Wayne Couzens.
Matthew Littlefair, 36, has been jailed for fraud after anti-corruption officers found he was able to play football, run and cycle despite claiming £150,000 while off injured from work in Dorset
The case had come 'during one of the worst years in recent policing history', Judge Robert Pawson said.
Littlefair - who arrived at Salisbury Crown Court, Wilts, in a wheelchair - admitted a single charge of fraud by false representation.
Prosecutor Robin Leach told the court Littlefair had been a police officer since 2008, transferring to Dorset Police from Avon and Somerset in 2016.
However, while he was off duty in October 2017, Littlefair was in a car crash described in court as a 'rear end shunt'.
Despite the relatively minor crash, the PC took himself to hospital complaining of pain and whiplash, the court heard.
Upon release from hospital he reported himself sick and unfit for duty.
When Dorset Police offered him reduced hours and the chance to work from home, Littlefair refused, complaining 'he was in such severe pain he couldn't carry out his tasks'.
He was eventually offered ill health early retirement in September 2019 when the force judged he would never be able to fully return to the job.
Dorset Police found evidence Littlefair had been walking at least 10,000 steps a day while off
But instead of accepting this payout he appealed, claiming 'his pain was so serious that he wouldn't be able to be employed ever again'.
Mr Leach said: 'He complained of lasting injuries, chronic pain in most parts of his body and constant right knee pain so bad his knee could give way on him at any moment.'
The court heard Littlefair was visited regularly by Sergeant Tim Travers, who was his superior, and stayed in text contact with him.
He would often tell Sgt Travers there was 'no change' in his condition and when he came to visit he would mumble as if he was being affected by a cocktail of drugs.
In total while on sick leave he fraudulently claimed about £150,000 in wages, tax contributions and pension costs, the court heard.
But Dorset Police eventually became suspicious over the length of his enforced absence.
In April and May 2020 a covert investigation was launched by Dorset Police's Counter Corruption Unit, supervised by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Among other activities, surveillance officers caught Littlefair playing football with his children at their home in Alderholt, Hants, the court heard.
Officers from Dorset Police (pictured) observed Littlefair running, cycling and playing football
