Pensioners reprimanded for taking photos of a deserted paddling pool – because of paedophile fears

UK Daily Mail
Thursday, July 24, 2008

A council has apologised to two women pensioners after a worker reprimanded them for photographing a deserted paddling pool over fears about paedophiles.

Southampton City Council said it was trying to strike a balance between protecting children who use the pool, the fear of paedophiles taking photographs and the community as a whole.

But staff would now be advised to use their discretion when seeing people taking photographs at the pool on Southampton Common, the council said today.

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Betty Robinson, 82, and Brenda Bennett, 69, had taken snaps of the pool area when the female council worker ordered them to stop.

Mrs Robinson told the Southern Daily Echo: ‘It’s absolutely ridiculous. After asking why we couldn’t take photos she told us those were the rules. It’s pathetic – bureaucracy gone mad.

‘I said is it because we might be paedophiles? There were no children in the pool but she pointed to a man and boys in the distance and said we could come back later at 6pm when the park was closed.

‘We are just a couple of old ladies who wouldn’t hurt children and we are certainly not paedophiles.’

Full article here

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2 Responses to “Pensioners reprimanded for taking photos of a deserted paddling pool – because of paedophile fears”

1. mar Says:
   July 24th, 2008 at 7:22 am

   Murder is okay….sex is sinful. Kristian nuts drive this sort of crap. “No kristian ridden society remains free” They are the enemies of freedom, but they are too ignorant to figure that out.

2. Steve Williams Says:
   July 24th, 2008 at 12:33 pm

   It’s perfectly alright to maim and kill little kids in Iraq and Afghanistan in an illegal war but it’s a no-no taking pictures of a deserted pool?

   Am I missing something here?