A mother is demanding an apology after the police turned up to her house in a riot van to check whether her 12-year-old daughter was self-isolating.
Greater Manchester Police rolled up to Kathryn Crook's house in Middleton on two occasions after her daughter Charlotte contracted Covid-19, and Crook said her child was 'petrified' after the experience.
Now, she wants an apology from GMP and Rochdale's public health chiefs for what she describes as 'overkill'.
The coppers turned up to her house on Warwick Road in Alkrington last Sunday to ask whether Charlotte had been self-isolating after her positive test.
Kathryn told Manchester Evening News: "They would not tell me and my husband why they wanted to speak to my daughter.
"I suggested again that she was only 12 and as her mother, I should be the one they should speak to.
"My daughter by this time was stood behind me crouching thinking she had done something wrong and was petrified.
"The female police officer who stood at our door then proceeded to shout through to my daughter to check she had been isolating.
"I spent Monday trying to find out why this had happened only to be told by Rochdale public health department that they had authorised this to happen."
Kathryn later wrote to her MP, Conservative Chris Clarkson, asking him to investigate the matter, to which he duly agreed.
Crook continued: "During Monday we also received a letter addressed to our daughter from Rochdale council stating that she must get in touch with them as a matter of urgency about her isolating.
"I called the phone line and they said it was standard practice, even though the leaflet read as if aimed at an adult. I was also told the person who had signed it no longer works there.
"Last night (Monday, June 12), we settled down and just after 9pm got a knock at the door.
"It was the police again, this time in a riot van and coming to 'check' again that my daughter was isolating.
"Me and my husband were so annoyed by this. The neighbours had also seen all of this and came out to show their support for us.
"They could see what had happened and a riot van in the street is a bit much.
"This time, however, the policeman was polite and was much more forthcoming than the two that had been the previous night. It was terribly upsetting again for my daughter and she had another meltdown again thinking the police were going to arrest her.
"I have since spoken to the public health specialist at Rochdale Council who has blamed NHS Test and Trace for all this and said if I'd have said we were all isolating the matter would not have got to this."
A spokesperson for Rochdale Council said: "Where the national track and trace team is not able to contact someone to confirm isolation, the details are passed to councils to be dealt with locally.
"It is important that people carry out their legal duty to isolate so that other people are protected from the virus.
"By speaking to people who are isolating we are also able to establish if they need any support, like food shopping, so it is really beneficial for people to engage with the track and trace system.
"We have spoken directly with the family and offered our support to them."
Greater Manchester Police added: "The process undertaken with the NHS track and trace service is not usually conducted by GMP, unless there is a breach.
"This means that the local authority will be contacted first if someone has not answered the calls made from the NHS to check if they are isolating as required.
"By working in partnership with the local authority, police officers will then be asked to attend as there has been unanswered calls and a suspected breach to carry out the checks and issue a fixed penalty notice if required.
"Any engagement will be done directly with the person who has been asked to self-isolate.
"In this instance when an officer attended on Monday night we established that the isolation request had been adhered to and the officer was satisfied that the original NHS request had been met.
"These checks are also conducted on welfare grounds as having to self-isolate could impede someone's ability to get food or essential items so it's important they are continued in-line with national guidance."
Featured Image Credit: MEN MediaTopics: Police, UK News, Manchester, Covid-19