Teenager threatened in Littlehampton

A 14-year-old boy was threatened and verbally abused by an abusive male earlier today — and so was his tutor.

Copyright: Dwayne Hards.

The man began abusing the boy after he dropped a small piece of paper over a fence — which was full of litter — outside Iceland, Littlehampton.

The 14-year-old boy and his tutor were being prevented from walking away from the abusive male. The violent man assaulted the two victims whenever they tried to walk away, so they told him to "fuck off" and leave them alone. The boy's tutor called the police amid the man's extreme and unnecessary behaviour towards them.

After the boy got home, the police had to be called so that officers could calm him down by talking to him, as he was getting violent because of his ADHD and the abusive man's behaviour towards him. The police officer was able to calm the young lad down in seconds because of his nice personality.

The man's violence, abusive behaviour, and threatening attitude was totally unnecessary. The boy only dropped a small piece of litter over a fence, so the man should have had a quiet word with him instead of abusing him and his tutor.

The police condemned the man and his actions, saying his behaviour was unacceptable and that he had no right to assault, imprison, or abuse anyone, especially when they've done nothing seriously wrong. Police are currently investigating the incident.

As soon as the young lad started filming the man, he began trying to justify himself and was lying about his actions.

The Littlehampton RNLI Shop's staff kindly allowed the young lad to stay in their shop until the man left the scene.

Although dropping small amounts of litter is technically illegal, it is hardly ever enforced by police officers in Sussex amid the lack of public interest.

A citizen's arrest can only be made by a member of the public if someone has committed a serious criminal offence, such as: assault or being in possession of a bladed article. A citizen's arrest cannot be made by a member of the public if someone has committed, or is about to commit, a petty offence, such as: smoking weed or dropping small amounts of litter.