clipped from: www.thisislondon.co.uk   

First there was the boy of 11 quizzed over an e-mail calling his schoolfriend gay.

Then came the five-year-old told off for playing hopscotch after chalking on the street.

Now, just when you thought police over-reaction had reached its height, we present the couple investigated for joking about squirrels.

Grey squirrels
The Cumberland News had published an article claiming that incomers from the South were releasing grey squirrels in the area
The Harrows, who used to live in Devon, sensed an anti-southern bias in the story and decided on a light-hearted response
sending a spoof letter to their local paper.

Shortly afterwards, there was a knock at the door of the couple's home in the Lake District village of Thackthwaite, near Penrith.

Two officers from Cumbria Police informed them they were investigating claims of squirrel abuse.

"It would be laughable if it were not so sad. How do these people think we got hold of the grey squirrels in the first place - run around with a pocketful of peanuts and a lasso?