Nailed! Security guard and three police officers interrogated grammar girl who painted one fingernail in Boots

So when grammar school girl Hannah Gilbert, 12, popped into Boots on only her second trip into town by herself, she thought nothing of painting a single thumb with nail polish to see how it looked.

But her shopping expedition turned into a nightmare when a security guard suddenly appeared and told her that if she failed to buy the product she would be guilty of theft.

Shocked: Hannah Gilbert with her mother Cheryl

Tearful Hannah, a member of a Christian youth fellowship group, did not have enough money to pay for the £6.29 peach-coloured Revlon polish  -  so was ordered into an office to wait for the police.

An hour later, three officers arrived to interrogate her, even though a check on her lawabiding family's records revealed no evidence of any criminal history.

And it was only when the frightened girl's parents Barry, 57, an engineer, and Cheryl, a 46-year-old nurse, hurried to the shop to pay for the nail polish that she was finally freed.

Mr and Mrs Gilbert have spoken of their disgust at the 'heavy handed' treatment of their daughter, demanded an apology, and vowed never to shop in Boots again.

They said they were astonished to be told in the course of the incident that as Hannah was over ten she could be forcibly restrained  -  even though she had made no attempt to escape.

Hannah, a pupil at Folkestone School for Girls who lives with her parents and brother Steven, 16, in St Mary's Bay in Kent, is still traumatised by her experience.

It took place last week when she had a day off school while her teachers were undergoing training. Hannah said: 'I went into the shop and saw a nail polish which I thought looked all right. There were no testers so I put a tiny bit on my thumbnail.

The security guard walked up behind me and said I had to pay for it or it would be theft.
'I was really scared. I had no money on me so he said I had to come into the office.'

Mrs Gilbert added: 'Hannah was scared and crying. The whole approach was very heavy handed.

'I find it incredibly hard to believe this was the most serious incident going on for the police to deal with.

'Frankly this country has gone crazy. This is the sort of thing that just makes me want to pack our bags and leave as soon as Hannah's finishing her schooling.

'She was kept for an hour in a small office with the security guard and a manager and the police were called.

'At first there were three officers there. When we got there it was just one.

'The officer told us our rights and said they even had the power to forcibly restrain Hannah as she was over the age of ten. It was completely over the top.

'She's not the kind of child to do something like that. And who was looking after the shop if the security guard was with my daughter? I would have thought that left them more open to crime.'

A Boots spokesman said: ' During the recent event at our Folkestone store we worked with Miss Gilbert and subsequent local law enforcement to ensure an effective resolution was met.

'Mrs Gilbert's daughter remained on the premises until she was able to be released safely into the care of her parents.

'These safety measures are in place to ensure our customers have a continued safe shopping environment.'