A man was persuaded by his friends that he was hunted by police in a prank using a Norfolk Police picture.
Rian Kennington's friends posted a selfie of several officers, with an ominous caption warning the 23-year-old.
The post said: 'What's up Rian, you lost your phone running 100mph from us yesterday.
'If you want it back come to Scunthorpe police station #humbersidepolice #youcanrunbutyoucanthide'
However, Humberside Police have since revealed the image is a fake.
The Daily Mirror reported that Humberside Police chief inspector Will Jenkins said: 'It looks like Mr Kennington has some cheeky friends, who have used an old photograph of our colleagues at Norfolk Police to play a prank on him.
'While they're technically impersonating a police officer, which is a criminal offence, on this occasion I think we'll let it go and hope it didn't cause Mr Kennington too much undue distress.'
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