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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