A police officer claimed his made-up girlfriend died of cancer to get days off work, a chief constable said.
Harry Sarkar, a constable with West Midlands Police, said the officer would have been sacked for the "odious" gross misconduct had he not resigned.
Sarkar "maintained a detailed tissue of lies to colleagues and supervisors about a fake girlfriend, her fake illness, her fake death, and subsequent fake funeral", the force said.
