A jogger was caught on camera smashing his leg on a broken paving stone to make a phoney insurance claim.
Malcolm Harrison, 41, came up with the scam after spotting the faulty path on his daily run.
He returned to the path later the same day to hit his leg on the broken slab five times.
But bungling Harrison did not realise CCTV cameras on a block of flats in Brecon, Powys, were recording him.
Footage showed him laughing with a neighbour as he repeatedly banged his leg against the paving stone.
He claimed £6,000 for knee and ankle ligament damage from the housing association which owns the flats.
But they refused to pay up and alerted police after watching the bizarre CCTV footage back.
Prosecutor Paul Hobson told Merthyr Tydfil crown court that the broken slab “prompted an idea” from Harrison.
“He returned and deliberately banged his knee on the broken slab five times,” he said “Mr Harrison can be seen later in the CCTV hopping on one leg and limping.
“He didn’t know that what had happened was caught on CCTV - he was aware of the security cameras but thought they were dummies.”
Harrison admitted a £9,680 fraud which included the housing association’s legal expenses.
He was given a two-year community order and told to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work with costs of £1,000.
