A retired senior policeman has called for an end to society’s ‘paranoia’ surrounding paedophiles after he was banned from taking pictures of his grandson at a football match.
‘One of my hobbies is photography so I took my camera to take a few “action shots” of my grandson,’ wrote retired detective chief superintendent Chris Stevenson in an article for The Times.
‘Ten minutes later I was approached by the manager, who said: ‘Can I ask you not to take photographs, it’s against regulations. You have to get permission in writing from every parent of every child.’
Stevenson, whose investigations helped lead to the arrest of Soham murderer Ian Huntley, added: ‘I looked at the pictures I had taken. They were of my grandson making saves as his team came under pressure.
‘I am sure he would have liked to look back on them in the future. Who knows, he may be England’s goalkeeper at a future World Cup, although it?s a remote chance.
‘I deleted the photographs.’