Employers are taking a tougher line with staff because of the recession, with one in six prepared to sack somebody for being late just two or three times, a survey from CareerBuilder.co.uk reveals.

Twelve per cent of business leaders in the UK said they would show the door to a worker who was late four or five times, with 39% reporting they are now paying more attention to what time workers arrive than they had before the downturn.

So what are the most unusual excuses given by workers to explain their tardiness? In no particular order, employers shared the following true examples:

• Employee said there was a bank robbery in front of his house
• Employee was concerned about an impending comet impact
• Employee reported that a horse jumped over a hedge straight on top of her car
• Employee’s cat was stuck in the cat flap
• Employee’s house was on fire
• Employee’s car was blocked in by a stolen car and the police were taking fingerprints
• Employee had difficulty adjusting to the climate change from winter to summer
• Employee said someone moved his teeth
• Employee said: “I always leave at the same time. Sometimes I’m late, sometimes I’m not. I can’t figure it out.”

Quite tempting to use the horse jumping on a car one… All classics in their own right. Unless, of course, (in true Esther Rantzen That’s Life! style) you know differently.