An army of 50 cops swooped on Thornton Heath High Street last week to arrest a boy of 12.

Pascoe Petgrave was handcuffed and put in a headlock when a woman accused him of stealing a £10 from a cash machine.

Row erupted

Pascoe was drawing money from the HSBC machine for his mother when he spotted the tenner sticking out of the slot, a nearby woman claimed it was hers and accused him of stealing it.

His two cousins stood up for him and the police were called. Pascoe's mum, Maxine was stunned to see a horde of cops arresting her relatives.

Police said:

"A large crowd had gathered. Elements of this crowd were hostile to police activity which resulted in a call for further assistance being made. That was answered by other colleagues, who subsequently attended.'