Police warning for little fella who was playing football in the street

An eight-year-boy has been advised by police to stop playing football outside his home. Football-mad Bertie Longworth was advised to stick to playing in his back garden after a nearby resident complained about noise caused by him and his nine-year-old friend. The pair had been playing out after school, kicking a ball against the front wall of his semi-detached home in Randolph Road, Kearsley.

Police community support officers visited them at around 5.30pm last Monday, following the complaint, taking a note of Bertie’s name and date of birth. His mother, Miss Janine Longworth, aged 39, said: “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that eight and nine-year-old boys can’t play football. “The PCSOs were taking the complaint quite seriously.



“Kids are going missing, people are getting burgled and police are being called out for kids playing football. I could understand if he had smashed a windowbut he hasn’t. He is just playing outside his home. If he is noisy, I do tell him to be quiet.” Bertie, a Year Three pupil at Prestolee Primary School in Stoneclough, is a member of Bury Juniors and has since only been playing in his garden.

Miss Longworth, a mother-of-two, said: “Why should he be a prisoner in the garden? I can’t send him to the park because it’s full of people drinking and swearing. He keeps asking when he can play on the front again but I am too scared. I don’t want the police to keep being called.” Inspector Phil Spurgeon, from Bolton South Neighbourhood Policing Team, confirmed PCSOs responded to a complaint of youths kicking a ball against a house and advised them to move to the back garden.