‘Rangers’ employed by local business group are accused of ‘assaulting’ boy

A former Downing Street assistant has accused two street wardens who work for a local business group in a cathedral city of ‘assaulting’ her black 15-year-old son in a Superdrug store.

The boy, whose mother Kirsty Buchanan is a former Number 10 assistant, was forcibly restrained by the two men on the floor of the store in Chichester, West Sussex.

Footage Ms Buchanan released on Twitter shows the two men holding the teen to the ground as they handcuffed him before police arrived.

She said, “This is my 15-year-old black son who was followed buying shampoo by two city officials called rangers. He was attacked by them, then sat on them and was handcuffed by them. Guess who they arrested when the Sussex Police arrived?’

Sussex Police are now investigating and said a 15-year-old boy from Worthing and a 16-year-old boy from Chichester have been arrested on suspicion of assault. Superdrug claimed female staff had been assaulted and the store had to be closed due to damage.

The two men are rangers for the Chichester Business Improvement District, which works with the city council. The BID said they act as “the eyes and ears on the street and a reassuring presence for those on the frontline of petty crime.”

The BID describes itself as a business-led initiative that is ‘independent of local authorities and other regulatory bodies and delivers projects that go beyond the basic services they provide’.

Ms Buchanan has urged the BID to contact her about the park rangers’ ‘conduct’, saying on Twitter: ‘Surely you cannot approve of the way they have treated my son?’

Ms. Buchanan claimed to the Daily mirror that the park rangers were aggressive towards her son and his friends, saying, “What I was told is that the ranger pushed him and pushed my son back…they put plastic handcuffs on him – the police then arrived and arrested my son.”

Ms Buchanan, who was once a political editor at the Sunday Express and is also a former adviser to Theresa May and Liz Truss, said she had not heard from her son for an hour and a half while he was being held at Worthing police station.

The boy’s mother, Kirsty Buchanan, was once a political editor at the Sunday Express and is a former adviser to Theresa May and Liz Truss.

Ms Buchanan also said her son had regularly witnessed racist incidents and had been stopped and searched many times.

She tweeted last night: ‘So @sussex_police has a no detention policy on minors. My son is still in custody and has yet to be questioned.

“I have been told by a senior officer that the CCTV footage of Superdrug has not yet been recovered by the police. Why the hell not?’

She later revealed that her son – who is due to take six exams in a few weeks – was released from police custody at 1:15am this morning before going home.

A spokesman for Sussex Police told MailOnline yesterday: ‘We are aware of a video circulating on social media of a teenager being detained this afternoon (22 March) by civil security personnel in Chichester.

The men involved are rangers for the city’s Chichester Business Improvement District

The boy’s mother, Kirsty Buchanan, said guards “dipped” her son to the ground

Police were called to the East Street shop shortly after 3.30pm after reports of a group of teenagers involved in an altercation.

A store employee also reported assault. Officers arrived at the scene and three teenagers were detained by civilian security personnel.

A 15-year-old boy from Worthing and a 16-year-old boy from Chichester have been arrested by police on suspicion of assault.

“They remain in police custody pending urgent inquiries supported by appropriate adults. Investigations are underway to establish the full circumstances of what happened.”

Superdrug revealed that female staff were attacked and the Chichester store had to be closed

A Superdrug spokesman told MailOnline yesterday: ‘Today an incident occurred at our store in Chichester between Chichester BID Rangers and a group of young men they were monitoring.

‘Unfortunately, female employees were also attacked. This is now a police matter and we offer our full assistance to Sussex Police.

Our priority is always to keep our colleagues and customers safe, we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to violence and aggression. The store remains closed due to damage.’

And a spokesman for Chichester District Council said: “We have been made aware of an incident that occurred today in the town of Chichester and we would like to clarify that no Chichester District Council staff were involved.”

MailOnline has contacted the Chichester Business Improvement District for comment.

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