Our story about a St Paul’s Cray mum left bruised and fuming after an off-duty police officer arrested her for swearing in a school playground has sparked a huge debate online.

So far the article has generated nearly 300 comments here and more than 160 on our Facebook page, making it one of our most discussed stories ever.

 
Post by News Shopper.

It comes after Roxanne Beaven, of Whippendell Way, reported to us how she was chatting to fellow mums at Gray’s Farm Primary Academy when an off-duty police man overheard her use the word "c**t."

The Essex Police officer, who was taking his own children into school, asked 24-year-old Ms Beaven to mind her language as he passed her shortly before 9am.

When the 33-year-old copper returned to the playground a few minutes later, he threatened to arrest her if she swore again .

Ms Beaven then admits telling the officer to "f**k off" before he grabbed her arm and tried to wrestle her to the floor.

The mother-of-three, who was with her two-year-old twin sons Archie and George Lugg, said she did not believe the man was a police officer at first.

She told News Shopper: "I admittedly told him to f*** off at first because I didn’t know him from Adam.

"He has bruised my arm. It’s disgusting what he has done to me.

"It’s so sore, it really hurts. I ran into the school and burst out crying."

News Shopper:

Gray's Farm Primary Academy on Gray's Farm Road, St Paul's Cray

Ms Beaven, who has another son, five-year-old Tommy Duffell, and lives with her partner Charlie Lugg, has made a formal complaint against the officer.

She added: "I know I shouldn’t have been using that language outside the school but the way he reacted was out of order.

"The word was used in conversation. It was not directed at him.

"He was so aggressive. He was off-duty. To me, that is a parent attacking another parent."

News Shopper:

Ms Beaven has made a formal complaint to Essex Police

Met Police officers were eventually called to the school at 9am and Ms Beaven was arrested for a public order offence.

A 45-year-old woman who tried to pull the police officer away and knocked off his glasses was arrested for common assault.

Both were taken to a south London police station and issued with a caution after admitting the offences.

Dawn Cleary, of St Paul’s Wood Hill, stood talking to Ms Beaven after dropping her own children off at the school.

The 37-year-old said: "Everyone swears. All he had to do was say, ‘Tone your language down a little bit.’ It just went from one extreme to another.

"It was really horrible to stand there and watch. He blew it completely out of proportion."

Mum-of-two Catherine Oates, of Marion Crescent, St Mary Cray also saw the commotion.

The 30-year-old said: "He looked like he was trying to get her on the floor.

"Roxanne’s twin boys started screaming their heads off. We had no way of knowing he was really a police officer.

"I was disgusted. To those little boys, it looked like he was attacking their mum."

An Essex Police spokesman said: "We can confirm we have received a complaint about an officer and as this matter is being investigated we cannot comment further at this stage."

Gray's Farm Primary Academy declined to comment.