Three foreign tourists taking pictures of a British seafront were “detained” by passers-by who believed they were part of a paedophile ring.
The three Greek men were allegedly taking snaps of young children on the beach, leading to police being called.
But the confused tourists claim they were simply taking holiday snaps on Friday (8/4) – and children just happened to be in their line of vision.
A Facebook post, which has so far been shared almost 20,000 times, made allegations about the men alongside pictures of their faces on Facebook.
The post which has since been updated, mentions how one woman also took one of the men’s mobile phones during the confrontation at Marine Parade.
The post “warns everyone” about three men taking pictures of children who were caught by a young mum and helped by another, who wrote the post on Facebook.
It reads: “We assisted in watching her children while she confronted them and then proceeded to luckily get hold of his phone while calling the police, to which she found photographs of her own children and countless others?
“They’re (sic) excuse was they were teachers and needed them for class? Biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever head!
“So please if your (sic) going to be out and about with the kiddies this wkend (sic) before they are back to school, be vigilant?
“You never know who’s watching or the dangers that can be so very close by!!”
The post was then updated by the woman stating the men in question were actually taking pictures of scenery.
She continued to say how she has received “quite a backlash” even though she states she was just trying to safeguard children.
Now the woman wants to create a petition to “tighten laws against this situation happening again”.
A police spokeswoman said: “Police attended Marine Parade shortly before 4pm on Friday, April 8, following reports that three men had been detained by members of the public who were concerned about photographs being taken.
“The photographs were reviewed by officers who found no offences had been committed. The photos were of the general seafront area.”
