A MAN who says he is too frightened to reveal who killed his friend has been jailed for 18 months for misleading police over the death.

Desmond Giblin's lies about how York busker Anthony Grayson suffered fatal injuries sent detectives from two police forces on a month-long wild goose chase.

Yesterday Giblin, 37, was jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice. Mr Grayson's killer is still at large.

York Crown Court heard that Giblin was in the flat in George Street, York, where Anthony Grayson's body was found in June.

Mr Grayson had died from an infection caused by injuries sustained during a beating. Prosecutor Alan Mitcheson said Giblin told police he and Mr Grayson had travelled by coach to Colchester to see friends. He claimed they were set upon by three men there, and received a severe beating.

As a result of Giblin's story, North Yorkshire and Essex police set up a scene of crime unit in Colchester and arranged for Giblin to visit the town, accompanied by North Yorkshire officers.

But inquiries made to coach operators and with a pharmacist who supplied methadone to Mr Grayson showed he had not left York.

"It became apparent that Mr Giblin had deliberately misled the inquiry," said Mr Mitcheson.

"He says that the story about the trip had been agreed with the deceased to hide the true circumstances of how he got the injuries.

"Giblin is concerned for his own safety in the event of the true circumstances being made known to the police."

Nobody has yet been arrested in connection with the death of Mr Grayson, 38, who regularly busked with his harmonica in York city centre and was well known.

Defence barrister David Bradshaw said: "Normally, people who pervert the course of justice do so to further their own ends. This is a very unusual case. He is having to deal with the fear that people may think he's done something he hasn't.

"It will always be on his mind that someone may feel that he has done something he says he hasn't, and that they may seek retribution and that he may end up paying a higher price than he already has."

He said Giblin had not made a statement to police about the death of his friend, and he says that he will not.

Judge Patrick Robertshaw sentenced Giblin to 18 months in prison, and ordered that he serve 60 days from a prison sentence from which he had been released early.

He said Giblin knew who was responsible and could have helped police. Officers' time and public money was wasted for about a month and the true culprit was still at large.

Updated: 09:22 Saturday, September 07, 2002