Family lose bid to clear PC father's name in wallet theft

The family of a police officer convicted of theft more than 40 years ago have lost their long-running battle to clear his name.

An appeal against conviction brought on behalf of the late Frederick Charles Luckhurst was rejected by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, and two other judges at the Court of Appeal in London, yesterday.

Luckhurst was convicted in September 1966 of stealing a bank wallet and sentenced to a year in jail. In March 1967 his challenge against conviction failed.

The judges were urged to find that his larceny conviction was "unsafe" in the light of new evidence relating to identification.

But they ruled doubt had not been thrown on the safety of the conviction.

A member of the public, who had found the bank wallet containing 139 in the street, identified Luckhurst, who died in 1998, as the officer he gave it to.

The theft came to light after an inquiry by Buckinghamshire Police found the wallet and its contents were not booked in by police or restored to the owner.