A girl of 10 was handed a £40 fine for writing on a neighbour's wall in crayon.
Shannon Smith's mother said her daughter was "scared and upset" because she had also been fingerprinted and threatened with an Asbo.
Shannon's mother, Helen Smith, 29, said her daughter had simply inscribed a small "S" in wax crayon on a wall.
Their home in Rawtenstall, Lancs, was visited by an officer at 7.30am after a complaint about graffiti.
"He then went and came back at about 8.50am and then wrote her out a £40 fine, took her fingerprints and made her late for school," Mrs Smith said. "He also said that if she had another four incidents like this then she would get an Asbo. What is wrong with a telling off, which is what they had already had from me? She is not even a troublesome child."
A boy of 10 also received a fixed penalty notice. But police defended the decision, saying they were committed to tackling reports of anti-social behaviour.
Sgt Paul Leigh of Rossendale police said the penal
2007-09-29
09:27:29
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