'Police turned up at my home because my eight-year-old gave someone the finger'

18 July 2023 , 21:45

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The unnamed mum has hit out at the police calling their response completely unacceptable (Image: Getty Images)

Police officers turned up at a mum's door after her child allegedly gave someone the finger.

The woman was stunned and horrified to open her door to the police in Belfast, claiming to be responding to reports her eight-year-old son made the rude gesture.

She called out PSNI, saying officers shouldn't be "intimidating a young child" over a trivial, non-criminal incident.

The mum, who asked not to be named, told Belfast Live the incident arose off the back of ongoing dispute amongst neighbours about fly-tipping, saying she had already been subjected to numerous false and unfair police reports.

But the last thing she was expecting was for her child to be roped into the affair, and she described police's latest response as completely unacceptable.

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She recounted how officers "arrived at my home looking to speak to my young son" on Tuesday, saying that he had "committed the offence of giving someone the finger".

"This really took me back because he is only eight years old and even if he did do this it is not even an offence."

"It is such a trivial thing for police officers to be at my door about and I cannot believe that they would actually try to speak to a young child about this," she said.

"This all follows police refusing to investigate my complaints of someone recording my children without consent in the supermarket and in our own home."

Explaining the situation with her neighbours, she said: "Over the past few months I have been having issues with people fly-tipping at the rear of my property and have been working with the council in order to get it to stop, as I was receiving fines for something I did not do.

"This has led to me being harassed by the people that I believe have been doing the illegal dumping, with police being called to my house on a number of occasions for no reason whatsoever."

The PSNI have said that they have spoken to all parties involved in the incidents and that "nothing disclosed constitutes a criminal offence."

Connor Lynch