I was ostracised after I was wrongly accused of attacking two children... but it was my paedophile neighbour
A former care home manager has revealed how she was 'ostracised' by her community after she was wrongly arrested for injuring two teenagers with an air rifle - despite officers seizing a weapon from her neighbour as she was led away.
Mandy French's nightmare began when she gently remonstrated with a group of boys who were playing on fragile sand dunes outside her home in the seaside town of Hemsby, Norfolk.
Shortly afterwards, police descended on the area and she was arrested for shooting two of the boys, both aged 13 - one of whom needed hospital treatment.
She remained under suspicion on police bail for three months until next-door neighbour Jason Davis, 51, a convicted paedophile, was arrested and charged for the offence. He has now been jailed for two years.
Distraught Ms French, 55, said: 'Officers searched my house and took a replica blunderbuss musket-type pirate's gun, which used to be an ashtray, which they have now actually returned to me.
'But from the back of the [police] car, I saw them take the air rifle from Jason's house. But he was not arrested, something I will never understand.'
She added: 'I was so ill with anxiety. I moved here because I wanted a quiet life.
'My health hasn't been great but this house was detached, in a quiet area, and suited my health needs both mentally and physically. But it has not turned out that way.
'I was bullied, ostracised in the village because everyone thought it was me still.
'I couldn't walk my dog Hendrix through the village anymore. I felt so alone but I am pleased the truth is finally out.'
The bizarre incident happened last year on May 4, when locals spotted the boys playing on a spot that is at risk from coastal erosion and near an area where massive cliff falls have left homeowners worried about losing their properties.
Locals also said the group had also been urinating in the area and bared their backsides when confronted.
Speaking about it at the time, a weeping Ms French said: 'The only thing I did was shout at the kids for climbing up the dunes and being on top of the dunes.
'The children called me ''wibbly wobbly'' and shouted ''get your t****** out'', so I walked away.'
She went inside her seafront home to contact nearby Richardson's Holiday Park where she understood the group, who were on a rugby tour, had been staying before going to speak with some friends.
By the time she returned, two of the boys had been shot, unbeknown to Ms French.
She said: 'When I got there, I saw all the police on the beach. I said to my friends I couldn't believe someone had called the police because I had a bit of a go at some children.'
'When I was arrested, I genuinely didn't think there had been a shooting. I was in disbelief and astonishment and so confused.'
Ms French, who used to be care manager at a day centre, was driven to a police station - despite seeing officers take an air rifle from Davis's house - and grilled about the incident before being released on bail.
Both of the injured boys were treated by paramedics at the scene, with one later taken to hospital by his parents and released the same day.
It wasn't until July that Davis was arrested and he was charged on September 15.
He appeared at Norwich Crown Court on February 21 this year – although no details were released by the police at the time, which Ms French said meant locals still thought she was to blame.
Davis admitted possession of a firearm when prohibited and two counts of battery in relation to the boys he shot.
He was also sentenced for two breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which were unrelated to the dunes incident.
Davis was jailed for two years in February but Ms French said police didn't publicise the case, meaning locals weren't aware she had been cleared on any involvement in the shooting of the two 13-year-old boys
Davis's Alsatian, Rufus, had to be rescued from his home after he was jailed as neighbours said it was left for days at a time and could be heard 'crying and yelping'
The court heard his criminal record dated back decades and included a 2003 conviction with a 12-year jail term imposed at Northampton Crown Court.
This was for the systematic sexual abuse of three youths in Daventry, Northamptonshire, and Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, over a five-year period in the 1990s. A jury found him guilty of nine attempted rapes, eight indecent assaults and an act of gross indecency.
Ms French claimed Davis had tried to blame her for the shooting and she had been 'taunted' about it in the village.
'I just felt like I was on my own and nobody cared and nobody believed me,' she said.
'It's horrible to think people believed I would do that.'
Sixteen years later, on March 1, 2023, any remaining grass was long gone and some of the homes had sand up to their front door
Davis's dog had to be rescued from his home earlier this month, following neighbours' concerns that it had been neglected since he was jailed.
He was understood to have made arrangements for the Alsatian, called Rufus, to be fed, watered and walked while he served his time. But locals claimed he was left alone for days at a time and could be heard 'crying and yelping'.
An RSPCA spokeswoman said: 'We are so grateful to people who report suspected animal suffering to us.'
Norfolk Police told MailOnline they 'don't have any record of a complaint' about Ms French's treatment, including her arrest.
A spokeswoman added: 'If any member of the public is unhappy with the way an officer or member of staff has behaved, or wishes to make a complaint about the police, we would always encourage them to share their concerns with us directly.'
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