Birkenhead man who claimed to be police to kidnap boy jailed

Merseyside Police said "several items consistent with a police uniform were seized" from Byrne

A man who posed as a police officer to try and kidnap a boy has been jailed.

Merseyside Police said Robert Byrne, 56, took the 13-year-old from a shop in Liverpool in February after he previously told its owner he was an undercover officer.

The force said officers tracked down the pair to a nearby fast-food outlet.

Byrne, of Fountain Street in Birkenhead, admitted kidnap at Liverpool Crown Court and was jailed for five years and four months.

A police representative said the court heard the boy had gone into the shop in the early of hours of the morning and asked the shopkeeper to contact police as he was reported missing.

"While reporting it... the shopkeeper saw Byrne walk past the shop and asked for his assistance, as Byrne had previously identified himself as an undercover police officer," they said.

'Predatory behaviour'

They said Byrne was wearing clothes similar to a police uniform and took the teenager to the restaurant, "where police officers tracked him down and arrested him".

They said the boy was taken home and "several items consistent with a police uniform were seized" from Byrne.

Byrne pleaded guilty to kidnap and breaching an order.

Speaking after sentencing, Det Insp Victoria Tinsley said he had "preyed up" on the young boy's "circumstances of being vulnerable and upset".

"What was also alarming was that Byrne had previously told retailers that he was a police officer working undercover," she said.

"This showed the lengths his predatory behaviour would go to in order to win the trust members of the public."

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