POLICE may have been forced to waste valuable resources this week after doubt was thrown on a teenager’s claim that she was sexually assaulted on a secluded path.

Police spent hours conducting a finger tip search of the scene, off Greenford Road and beside the Brent Valley Golf Course, as reported yesterday.

A 15-year-old said she had been attacked on the path, on the border of Greenford and Southall, at about 11.10pm on Tuesday.

Detectives from Operation Sapphire, which tackles sex crimes, initally launched a manhunt, but became sceptical about the truth of the allegation as their investigation developed.