A Welsh dad had his hotel room 'raided by police' after he was suspected of being a paedophile for checking in with his daughter.
Karl Pollard, 46, had his hotel checked while staying with his 14-year-old daughter at a Travelodge in Macclesfield.
The pair had travelled up from their home in South Wales to visit the girl's grandmother, who is suffering from cancer at a hospital in the region.
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"I couldn't believe it. It was an emotional trip already - but it was made so much worse," he told the Daily Mail.
"One minute I was brushing my teeth, the next I was being told I was a paedophile. My mum has just been diagnosed with aggressive lung cancer. We're not sure how long she has left."
"I wanted to take her down to visit her before she started treatment.
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"When we arrived the receptionist gave me a weird look but I thought nothing of it. We went up to the room to get unpacked and ready to see my mum. It was only a 20-minute walk away - which is why I chose the hotel.
"About 10 minutes later there was a knock at the door. A policewoman was standing there. I thought something had happened to my mum or my wife. But she said, 'We've had a call from Travelodge, they believe you are a paedophile grooming underage girls'."
The cops took Mr Pollard in and interviewed him and his daughter - separately - about the incident.
"I explained to her that I was her dad," said Karl.
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"The officer had to ask her loads of questions to prove it. My daughter was in tears. She was so scared - and thought I was going to get taken away. This has never happened to me before."
Karl said the Travelodge did not originally offer Mr Pollard a refund of the £150 that he paid for the room.
They later refunded him and issued an apology.
When contacted, the hotel chain stated: "All our hotel teams are trained according to national guidelines supported by the NSPCC. In the past proactive action by our hotel teams has helped to safeguard young people at risk. In this instance we got it wrong."
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Macclesfield cops also released the following stament: "Police were called at 3pm on Thursday, February 8, to reports of suspicious activity at a hotel on Waters Green in Macclesfield.
"Staff at the Travelodge did the right thing by reporting what they believed to be suspicious activity to officers, although thankfully there was nothing untoward and it turned out to be a misunderstanding."