A hoaxer has been found guilty of wasting police time after claiming he lost a daughter in the Asian tsunami, according to BBC news.

Philip Bosson, 39, told officers his former wife called him to say their daughter Kayleigh had been killed.

But inquiries revealed she did not exist and his family was not involved.

Looking into Kayleigh's alleged death is thought to have involved hundreds of police officers and other investigators, and cost Devon and Cornwall Police alone more than $10,600.

Defense lawyers are arguing that Bosson truly believes his own story.