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Boy, seven, calls police after not being allowed out to play during lockdown

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Boy, seven, calls police after not being allowed out to play during lockdown
News

News

Boy, seven, calls police after not being allowed out to play during lockdown

2020-03-28 15:50 Last Updated At:15:50

Alfie Bell called 999 from his room after arguing with his mother because he wanted to go to the park and meet his friends.

A seven-year-old undergoing 12 weeks of isolation called the police on his mother for not letting him out to play.

Alfie Bell is in the highest risk category for coronavirus due to complex health issues, so he and his mother Stephanie are facing three months of self-isolation in Fallin, Stirling.

The primary school pupil has Crohn’s disease and is immunosuppressed.

He normally receives injections every week to guard against infection as even catching chickenpox could prove fatal.

Medical staff told Ms Bell her son should only be allowed to play on his trampoline in the garden for five minutes twice a day and no-one should be allowed in the house.

Alfie decided the restrictions were too much and called 999 from his room to report his mother to the police.

Posting on social media about the surprise call, she joked they were “failing miserably at isolation”.

Ms Bell said she had no idea what was going on when two police officers turned up at her door on Thursday afternoon.

She told the PA news agency: “It’s only me and my son in the house and we are kind of getting a bit sick of each other’s company.

“He got up on Thursday and said ‘I’m going to the park’ and he was going to see his friends. I said: ‘No, you’re not going anywhere, there’s a bad bug outside and you can’t go out’.

“We had a full-scale argument, he was standing and shouting, and said he was going to go up the stairs.

“Five or six minutes later he came back down and then I heard this almighty bang at the door.

“I got up and there were two policemen standing in the garden.

“They were like: ‘What’s happening here, what’s wrong?’ and I said: ‘You tell me, you’re at my door’.”

The officer said they had a missed call from a mobile number registered to her address and were sent out.

Ms Bell realised her son must have called from the mobile he was given for his birthday last month.

She said: “I shouted him and he ran up the stairs. When I asked why he called them, he said: ‘So you can go to the jail because you’re not letting me out to play’.

“What’s happened is he attempted to phone the police because I wasn’t letting him out to play. The phone has been temporarily confiscated.”

The child health and social care student said her son had earlier taken to sitting on a chair looking out the window since he missed seeing people but locals have rallied round, including handing in craft material so he can play noughts and crosses through the window.

She said: “For eight days we really didn’t see another human but after I put the picture up on Facebook we’ve had people at the window and waving and putting things through the door. It’s a great wee community.”

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Officers performed a welfare check at an address in Stirling around 4.50pm on Thursday, March 26, following an abandoned emergency call.”

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty tied an American League record with seven straight strikeouts to open a game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday and finished with a career-high 14 over 6 2/3 innings in a 2-1 defeat.

Flaherty matched the record shared by Joe Cowley of the 1986 Chicago White Sox, Carlos Rodón of the 2016 White Sox, Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell in 2018 and Seattle’s Luis Castillo two years ago.

Miami Marlins right-hander Pablo López set the major league record by striking out the first nine batters of a game in 2021.

Flaherty, facing one of his former teams, struck out the side over the first two innings and had one more strikeout to start the third inning with a mix of four-seam fastballs and knuckle-curveballs that kept the Cardinals flailing at pitches.

Masyn Winn hit a groundout with one out in the third to end the strikeout streak, but Flaherty struck out the side in the fourth to raise his total to 12.

The 28-year-old Flaherty matched the most strikeouts in the majors this season and the most for the Tigers since Max Scherzer had 14 against Pittsburgh in an eight-inning outing on Aug. 14, 2014. Flaherty gave up two hits and a walk in 6 2/3 innings, exiting with Detroit leading 1-0.

Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow had 14 strikeouts over seven innings at Minnesota on April 9.

Detroit signed Flaherty to a $14 million, one-year contract, a deal that gives him a chance to earn an additional $1 million in bonuses.

He was fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2018 in St. Louis and finished fourth in Cy Young Award voting the following year with an 11-8 record and a 2.75 ERA for the Cardinals.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty throws during the first inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty throws during the first inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty throws during the fifth inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty throws during the fifth inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty throws during the first inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty throws during the first inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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