Handcuffed by police aged just 8

AN eight-year-old boy was slapped in handcuffs and arrested by police, leaving him emotionally “scarred for life” according to his mother.

Officers, suspecting the child was in a stolen car, snapped their quickcuffs on young Joshua Hurley and put him the back of a police van along with his 19-year-old brother Anthony Walker and two other teens after stopping a car in Whitley at 4.30pm on a weekday afternoon.

Joshua, who’s just 4ft 4in tall, was kept in cuffs and taken to Reading Police Station – despite being two years too young to be charged with any offence.

Police suspected the car was stolen.

Officers dropped Joshua home to Kingsley Close in Whitley Wood around 6pm but his mum, Sandra Blake, was outraged her son had been handcuffed.

The 46-year-old claimed the incident on Wednesday, May 4, would leave Joshua “scarred for life”.

Mrs Blake said: “I just can’t believe the attitude of the police in all this.

WAS THE CAR STOLEN!