A policeman who lied about his past to get a job has escaped jail because he saved a man's life.

Ben Coone failed to reveal he had previous convictions when he applied to join Sussex Police.

He also did not disclose he had been disciplined in the Army and lied about his qualifications.

But he was commended for his actions while serving at Crawley police station after he helped disarm a suicidal man who had a carving knife, Hove Crown Court heard.

A judge said that without Coone's actions the man may not now be alive.

Judge Austin Issard-Davies said Coone's lies destroyed public confidence in the police and he would normally be sent to prison.

But he said Coone's commendation gave him the exceptional circumstances needed not to jail him immediately.

Coone, 35, was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for a year. He was also ordered to pay £245 costs. Last year Coone was found guilty of driving without due care after crashing his police car on an emergency call.

He and a colleague were on their way to a domestic incident in Gossops Green, Crawley, when he lost control at 80mph in September, 2004. He was confronted by cars coming the other way on the A23 and swerved on to a grass verge.

Details of the conviction at Brighton magistrates court last October were not given at yesterday's hearing.

Alan Kent, prosecuting, said Coone, a former soldier, applied to join Sussex Police in 2001.

But he left blank the section on his application form for previous convictions, cautions and military discipline.

Mr Kent said Coone had been disqualified for driving under-age when he was 16. He had also received a police caution for possessing cannabis while serving in the Army in 1992. In addition, Coone had served 14 days in military custody for going absent without leave.

During that time he hired a car and failed to return it.

As a result, he was charged with taking a car without consent and disqualified from driving for another six months.

Mr Kent said Coone had also exaggerated the exam grades he obtained in Lyme Regis and Weymouth, Dorset.

Mr Kent said he was appointed as a police constable by Sussex Police in March 2002. These offences came to light in November 2004, when he applied for clearance to work in the support team in North Downs division.

He said: "On the form he again said he did not have any criminal convictions, cautions or military disciplinary matters.

"However, a simple check on the police national computer revealed the convictions." Coone, who at the time lived in Vicarage Road, Crawley Down, and now lives in Dorset, admitted obtaining a financial advantage by deception.

Before joining the police he had served in the 11th Signals Regiment and the Wiltshire and Dorset Regiment.

David Jubb, defending, said Coone had been a "misfit" in the Army and had suffered from bullying.

After being discharged, he became a teacher in Spain and then worked a cabin crew member for an airline.

He joined Sussex Police because he saw it as a worthwhile career. He has been suspended for 18 months since the lies were revealed.

Mr Jubb said: "He served his time in the police in an exemplary manner and received a commendation for disarming a suicidal man who had a carving knife.

"He is extremely ashamed and feels that he has let down his fellow officers in the police force."

Judge Issard-Davies said: "When you apply to become a police officer, you are applying for a post in which the public places very special confidence.

"That public confidence is destroyed by actions such as that which you took.

"There is, in my judgment, one exceptional circumstance in your case.

"As a police officer you were instrumental in the saving of the life of a person for which you were, with your colleague, singled out for praise."

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "We have a clear force policy that anyone applying to become a police officer undergoes a number of checks including a criminal records check.

"This process does not appear to have been properly completed in this case and we regret this was able to happen.

"We believe that this is an isolated case but we are currently re-checking to ensure that there are no similar cases where checks have been missed."