A grandmother exasperated by footballs being kicked into her garden was visited by police who told her that if she failed to return them she could be charged with theft.

Penny Freeman, 73, was visited by officers after keeping a handful of footballs that her next-door-neighbour's children had accidentally kicked over the wall.

The grandmother, who lives with her brother James Fudge, said she had started keeping the balls in her shed after the children failed to come and collect them because she "wanted them to learn consequences".

She said: "Last year, we thought we would keep the balls for a week and see if they would come and ask for them back. They never did.