AN INNOCENT man was "needlessly" chased through the courts for five months because of a bureaucratic foul up.

Today the Crown Prosecution Service came under fire for a "farcical waste of public money" after changing their minds and dropping the case.

Transport manager Alan Harris was summonsed to appear in court on a charge of driving without insurance after he was stopped by police in March.

But after four court appearances the 55-year-old was told he had no case to answer and should never have been charged. And today a chief prosecutor admitted the case had been "needlessly" brought.

Civil rights group Liberty said today it was vital cases were properly prepared before going to court.

After being stopped by police driving his Fiesta van on Manchester Road Mr Harris was asked to produce his documents at Burnley police station, which he did, and was expecting that to be an end to the matter.

To his shock and surprise he then however received a summons to attend court on July 25.

A case management hearing was held on that date before Mr Smith was ordered back to court on August 8 when the case was adjourned.

He was back in court on August 11 for another case management hearing before finally appearing yesterday when the case was dismissed.

Mr Harris has hit out at the CPS decision to pursue the case against him and said he is taking legal advice on whether he can sue.

Mr Harris, of Latham Street, Burnley, said the case had been a huge waste of money both to him and to the taxpayer.

Latest Home Office figures show the average cost of proceedings against a defendant is £2,700.

Mr Harris, who works at the Trafford Centre in Manchester and is also a HGV inspector, said: "I thought we were living in Britain where the onus is on the prosecution to prove somebody has done something wrong. However, even though I have done nothing the onus seems to have been on me to prove that.

"This whole situation has been a farce and a huge waste of public money, it must have cost thousands.

"Because I work nights attending court during the day is really disruptive and means I have to take time off work. The type of work I do means I cannot afford to be tired.

"I shall be putting in a claim to the Crown Prosecution Service to claim back the money I have lost and I am also writing to my solicitor to get some legal advice on whether I can sue the CPS.

"This has been a case of extremely bad management by the CPS, it is ludicrous."

Ian Rushton, district crown prosecutor for East Lancashire, said: "I am aware of this case and it seems some confusion arose because of a change of ownership of the vehicle and it took time for that information to come to our attention.

"I believe an apology was issued in the court and it is certainly unfortunate that this information was not forthcoming and that Mr Harris was needlessly taken the courts."

The Crown Prosecution Service is the government department responsible for prosecuting people in England and Wales charged by police with a criminal offence.

A spokesman for Liberty said: "Justice always demands cases are heard as swiftly as possible both from the point of view of convicting the guilty and so that the lives of the innocent are not disrupted.

"Every effort should be made to ensure cases are properly constructed before they are taken to court."