A LOCKSMITH was arrested in a dawn raid and thrown into a cell when cops found his fingerprints on the new lock he fitted AFTER a burglary.

Stunned Lee Hicks, 33, was held for four hours while police searched his home and grilled him about the garage raid.

The dad of two said he had nothing to do with the crime seven months earlier, but the desk sergeant snarled: Everyone claims to be innocent.

They only let him go when he convinced them he repaired a door following the robbery in Tewkesbury, Gloucs.

Now angry Lee is threatening to sue for wrongful arrest. He said: They took four hours of my life and didnt seem to care. Its hard to accept being locked up when you havent done anything. Last night a police spokesman said: We didnt know he was a locksmith.