It's bonkers - now they're confiscating conkers!

The children were issued with stop and search tickets by a police officer at Littlehampton on Saturday and had their haul of conkers confiscated.

But they went back the next day with their parents' permission after they called police to demand an explanation '” but no-one got back to them.

The same officer returned and again warned the children to stay away from the tree, in Church Street, claiming there was a conservation order on it and it was on private property.

Mother-of-two Diana Jayne, 41, was planning a party at the nearby Gratwicke Arms pub when son Kiya Andrews, 7, and friend Charlie Richardson, 11, were stopped.

She said: "The kids asked if they could go conkering at the big tree which is opposite the pub, so we said,'No problem'.

"They were just throwing sticks up into the tree to get the conkers down, then they were told off by the officer for pulling the branches.

"Charlie was frightened because the officer said he could have been arrested for it.

"My friend Becky phoned the police afterwards and asked to speak to someone. They were supposed to ring back but never did.

"When we went back to the pub the next day and the kids asked if they could go over to the tree again we said, 'Of course you can'.

"As soon as the officer turned up we went over to speak to her and she said there was a conservation order on the tree and that it could not be touched and it was on private property

"I told her the kids were only playing and that if the tree was protected it should have a sign on it.

"If it had on the ticket that the tree was protected by the order then I would have taken it more seriously. I would have told them to go somewhere else.

"There were no cars parked under the tree and the children were the only people who could have been hit.

"I think it is absolutely ridiculous. I tell them not to vandalise but telling them not to collect conkers is stupid.

"It's harmless fun but maybe the police just want children stuck in their bedrooms playing computers. I would rather they had fresh air.

"The kids just think it's silly and have ripped up their tickets. There is so much other stuff the police could be dealing with."

Charlie's mum, Rebecca Richardson, 36, added: "I thought it was a joke when the kids came back with the tickets.

"Surely they would be better off getting conkers off rather then smashing into cars and stealing stuff out of shops. They were just being kids."

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "The call came in to us because these trees are subject to a conservation order and residents put up a fight to have them listed.

"When we arrived we found a group of children with a large of bag of conkers and tree debris strewn everywhere.

"Stop and search forms were issued and words of advice were given by the officer. We also confiscated a large bag of conkers.

"The forms are a necessary form of bureaucracy that we have to complete but also a way of ensuring that parents are aware we have spoken to their children."

Arun District Council tree officer Mark Everson confirmed that the 60-year-old tree was in a conservation area, but he was not protected by a tree preservation order and was not on private property.

He added: "The youngsters of Littlehampton do what boys normally do in the autumn, throw things to get conkers. We all did it. The tree does not seem to have been mortally wounded.

"The unfortunate thing is that the children were, apparently, going out into a busy main road to throw things at the tree."

Town and Arun councillor Mark Butler said the police were right to warn the children about the dangers of stepping into the road. "While I understand the children's pleasure at conker time, which shouldn't be taken away, their safety has to be borne in mind.

"That tree is on a bend on a busy, fast road and it's dangerous to have children stepping off the pavement there.

"As a peacemaking gesture, if those families want to settle their differences with the police over a game of conkers, I would be happy to be the referee."

* What do you think? Were the police heavy-handed, confiscating the conkers? Or were they right to take the action they did? Vote online now at

www.littlehamptontoday.co.uk and see next week's Gazette for the result.