Widower on holiday with teen daughter accused of being pedophile
A single father says his holiday with his teenage daughter was ruined after staff at a hotel accused him of being a pedophile.
Widower Craig Darwell, 46, checked in to a Travelodge Hotel with his daughter Millie, 13, near a theme park in Surrey, southeast of London.
But after Mr Darwell moved his car and returned to reception a manager informed him the police had been called and he needed to prove he was Millie’s dad.
Mr Darwell told The Sun he had to go onto Facebook to show messages he’d sent to his daughter.
He was told it was company policy.
“It was bizarre and really offensive,” he said.
“Then he told me that he’d already called police so I had to wait for them to arrive.
“Luckily it took them about two seconds to realise he had got the wrong end of the stick, but it ruined the weekend for me.”
Mr Darwell’s wife died from leukaemia when Millie was four.
A spokeswoman for Travelodge has since apologised but said the company took a strong stance on protecting children and vulnerable young people.
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