WASHINGTON:

Ozzy Osbourne was very annoyed when police in North Dakota hunting around

for a way of bringing in hundreds of petty criminals on outstanding arrest warrants, hit on the novel idea of inviting them to a fake party the night the rocker was due to play at a local arena.

More than 30 people turned up at the nightclub hoping to meet the former Black Sabbath frontman. They were promptly arrested. But Sheriff Paul Laney, who organised the criminal caper for 500, had made one small slip. He had never asked how Osbourne might feel about having his name used to lure criminals.

“Sheriff Laney should be apologising to me for using my name in connection with these arrests,” Osbourne said in a statement. “It is insulting to me and my audience and it shows how lazy this particular sheriff is when it comes to doing his job.” The sheriff was unapologetic, saying that the greater good of the community had been served. “We just got real creative in reeling them in,” said Laney.