A SHOP boss who claimed to be the victim of three violent knife-point attacks has been arrested on suspicion of making them all up.

Tracy Frankcom, 40, from Darwen, told police she had been attacked by the same man at her music shop, in a car park and then at her home on separate occasions in a three-month period.

Police even released an evo-fit of the alleged attacker from the first incident, during which Mrs Frankcom received ‘slash’ wounds to her arms.

Officers are investigating how she came to suffer the ‘significant knife wounds’ in the three alleged incidents.

Mrs Frankcom spoke to the Lancashire Telegraph on October 21, a day after she claimed to have been the victim of an attempted robbery while moving instruments into her new Arietta Music shop in Bridge Street, Darwen.

At the time, she said: “The window shutters were down but I heard the chime of the door and these two men came in demanding money.

“There was a scuffle, punches were thrown and then one pulled a knife and I got slashed. It was very frightening.

“Everything went in slow motion. I just tried to defend myself and it escalated.”

Police studied CCTV in the area after the alleged incident and released an image of a suspect based on Mrs Frankcom’s description.

Two weeks later they investigated another alleged attack around 7pm after Mrs Frankcom reported another knifepoint struggle, this time in the car park on Bath Street, just behind her shop after she had locked up. She suffered a cut to her hand and told police it was the same man.

Then on the afternoon of Saturday, January 20, police were sent to Mrs Frankcom’s detached home in Astley Bank after she rang 999 reporting a third attack.

She claimed to have been putting out the rubbish at the back of the secluded house when the same man approached, threatened her and then attacked her with a knife, slashing her right arm close to the tendon.

She told officers that she had struggled free and got back inside the house and the man ran off.

Detectives sealed off the scene, made forensic searches and conducted house to house calls and CCTV inquiries. Mrs Frankcom was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital for treatment to what police described as a ‘nasty, deep cut’.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police confirmed: “A 40-year-old female was arrested at an address in Whitefield, Manchester, on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and wasting police time.

“This is following an investigation by Blackburn CID into three incidents that were reported to police - an allegation of robbery on October 20, 2010 and two allegations of assault on November 3, 2010 and January 22, 2011.”

Her husband Martin and Mrs Frankcom also perform as Jean Michelle Jarre tribute act ‘Jarrelook’ and have played at the Guild Hall in Preston.

Mrs Frankcom, a music teacher, has run a shop in Deardengate, Haslingden, for 11 years, taking lessons in piano, keyboard, violin and guitar.

Mrs Frankcom was questioned by detectives before being bailed until next month.

The couple are currently staying out of the Lancashire area.

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