What a load of utter balls

	© Daily Mail

It’s good to know that the British Transport Police are keeping public transport in London safe from would-be criminals. Last week, they cautioned a man carrying a hockey stick, apparently unimpressed with his rather feeble excuse that he was on his way to play a match. Now The Times reports that Chris Hurd was accosted by a policewoman at Baker Street (near Lord’s) and told that the cricket ball he was holding was a “potentially lethal weapon”

Mr Hurd, who was wearing a suit and had just finished work at the major City firm Ernst & Young, said yesterday: 'It was a ridiculous over-reaction. She was completely humourless and inflexible, and showed no understanding of my excitement about the Ashes.

'But she confiscated the ball for most of our conversation, gave me a verbal warning and said she was being very lenient. She filled out a stop-and-search form and finally gave the ball back at the end and sent me packing.'

But a spokesman for the police raised a hitherto unforeseen danger: “What if the ball was dropped and hit an old lady further down the escalator? "

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