Mother held for five hours and DNA tested for refusing to give children their ball back to teach them a lesson

Caught in the act: Lorretta Cole was locked in a cell for five hours for refusing to hand over a cricket ball.

When a cricket ball belonging to her neighbours' children kept landing on her property, Lorretta Cole gritted her teeth and handed it back.



But when it damaged her car, she decided enough was enough.



To teach them a lesson, she refused to return it - and promptly found herself under arrest.



The mother of four was detained for five hours while she was questioned and had her photograph, DNA and fingerprints taken.

Yesterday Mrs Cole, 47, said: 'I asked police whether if I gave the ball back, I would be given a reassurance that they would speak to the parents.

'But I wasn't given an assurance.'



Mrs Cole retrieved the £3.99 ball from land in front of her home in North Baddesley, Hampshire, and refused to give it back when the father of the three children came calling.



She was then visited on three occasions by officers from Hampshire Police who tried to persuade her to return it.



They warned her she could be arrested for theft, but she continued to hold on to the ball.



Police arranged a date for her to be arrested and interviewed at Lyndhurst police station.



She was then released on bail pending advice from the Crown Prosecution Service, and will have to return to the police station next month.



A Hampshire police spokesman said that Mrs Cole was 'obstructive' when officers visited her at home.



She added that the length of time Mrs Cole spent at the police station was prolonged while officers waited for her to arrange for a solicitor to be present.



It is police policy for DNA swabs, fingerprints and a photograph to be taken whenever someone is arrested, she said.



'The decision was made by the officers who attended her home to give the suspect time to calm down and to reconsider her actions,' the spokesman said.



'They returned to the address five days later.



'She was made aware that the incident would have to be treated as theft if she continued to keep the ball, but that it would be much better for all involved if it could be dealt with by way of a common sense approach.



'Mrs Cole was given the opportunity to return the ball a number of times. However she left the officers with no alternative but to take action.



'The ball was seized by police as evidence.'



