Police quiz grandfather who called neighbour ‘Mrs T---' in row over dog

Telegraph

01-03-2025

Police officers questioned a grandfather for more than an hour after he called his neighbour 'Mrs T---' in a row about his dog.
Laurence Meir, 73, was visited twice at his home in Gorsley, Herefordshire, by police who warned him not to use the term again.
The grandfather has now accused West Mercia Police of wasting time on 'trivial nonsense' instead of tackling real crime.
In January last year, Mr Meir's dachshund Dixie strayed into his neighbour's front garden, prompting the neighbour to allegedly call him a 't---'.
The neighbours had another run-in several weeks later, during which Mr Meir said 'Hello Mrs T---'.
Days later, two officers from West Mercia Police arrived at his home and questioned him for more than an hour about the incident, before warning him not to get 'involved' with her again.
'I found it disgusting'
'I admitted to the officers that I acted a bit immaturely in saying 'hello Mrs T---' to my neighbour,' he told MailOnline. 'But did that really merit two of them spending more than an hour questioning me about this?
'On one hand it's quite laughable but on the other, I found it disgusting. If you're the victim of real crime, the police don't turn up or investigate it properly.
'But call someone half-jokingly a 't---' and they're around almost immediately. The whole thing is a farce. You couldn't make it up.'
The police then visited his home for a second time after the neighbour complained he poked his tongue out at her children.
'I was livid that the police had come to see me again about such a pathetic matter and couldn't believe that they were wasting more of their time,' he said.
'I told the officers that I didn't stick my tongue out at these kids and that they should go and catch some real criminals.
'But the police warned me that if it happened again then they would be forced to take further action. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, it really shows that the police have got their priorities completely wrong.'
'How can that be right?'
Mr Meir added: 'We might live in a lovely village but the crime rate around here is going through the roof. That's what the police should be focusing on, not on silly comments that people might say to each other or what they're posting on social media.
'It makes me very angry that serious matters are not being investigated properly yet the police have the time and resources to waste time on minor things like this. How can that be right?'
A spokesman for West Mercia Police said: 'We received a report on March 18 2024 of a dispute between neighbours on Linton Road in Gorsley, Herefordshire. Officers attended and suitable words of advice where [sic] given.'
The case comes after police spoke to grandmother Helen Jones, 54, at her home in Stockport, Cheshire, last month after she criticised Labour politicians online for sending offensive WhatsApp messages.
The school administrator had posted on Facebook calling for the resignation of a councillor embroiled in the WhatsApp scandal which led to the sacking of Andrew Gwynne, the former health minister.