Man arrested for confronting litter lout

When David Bamber confronted a 12-year-old boy for dropping litter, he thought he was doing his bit to keep his neighbourhood tidy.

The police, however, had other ideas. They raced to the scene and hauled Mr Bamber to the police station, where he was held for eight hours on suspicion of common assault.

He was forced to pose for photographs and provide a DNA swab and fingerprints. He was eventually released without charge - but is still fighting to get his DNA sample, fingerprints and mugshot removed from the police database.



Mr Bamber, in his 50s, said: "The kid ripped up a load of pamphlets and threw them in the street. "I grabbed his coat and said I'm not letting go until you pick it up." However, the boy's mother turned up and threatened to phone the police, prompting Mr Bamber to call the station himself. Officers arrived and arrested him.

Six weeks after the incident he was told there was no case to answer and he is now fighting to have his DNA removed from the police database. Inspector Colin Michie, of Portsmouth police, said: "The action of taking hold of a person, be it physically by a part of their body or by their clothing can be construed as a common assault."

No formal action was taken against the boy as police decided it was better to simply let him off.