Ten-year-old girl warned by Kent police that hopscotch lines are 'illegal' and constitute 'criminal damage', claims father
Rob Williams
A ten-year-old girl from Kent has reportedly been warned by police after drawing a chalk hopscotch grid on the pavement outside her home.
Bob Allen, from Ramsgate, told local press that officers had frightened his daughter when they approached her saying it was 'illegal to draw on the floor' as it was 'criminal damage'.
According to reports the family have made an official complaint to police after the incident which is alleged to have taken place on Monday 6 May.
Mr Allen told the BBC: "They've just gone and said something to her and then just driven off."
"That's not the way for the police to deal with the problem, if there is a problem. And I don't think there is a problem here, so they shouldn't have said anything in the first place."
Kent Police said they have been unable to trace a force vehicle in the area at the time it is claimed the incident happened.
A spokeswoman said: “We are trying to trace the officers who are reported to have made this comment. From the circumstances described, it would not appear to have been necessary to advise the young girl that chalking a hopscotch grid may be criminal damage and illegal.”