Tia Sharp neighbour convicted of wasting police time
ByThe Courier Reporter
Paul Meehan, the neighbour of Tia Sharp's grandmother, arrives at Croydon Magistrates Court.
A neighbour of the grandmother of Tia Sharp has been jailed for five months for wasting police time by giving a false statement that he had seen her alive.
Bus driver Paul Meehan, 40, who lived next door to Christine Bicknell and her murderer boyfriend Stuart Hazell, told detectives investigating the schoolgirl’s disappearance he saw her walk past his home in New Addington on August 3 last year.
He told officers he was “100% sure” he saw her but the 12-year-old was already dead.
Meehan was convicted of “causing wasteful employment of the police by making a false report” at Croydon Magistrates Court.
Hazell was jailed in May for a minimum of 38 years for killing Tia. The court heard there was no suggestion Meehan was in league with Hazell.
Tia Sharp neighbour convicted of wasting police time
