Innocent schoolgirls, 13, receive apology from police after they issue CCTV wrongly accusing them of £400 make-up theft
Francesca Galelli and Molly Curtis were left in tears when images of them 'stealing' were plastered across local media
TWO 13-year-old girls have received an apology from police after they issued CCTV accusing them of a £400 make-up theft.
Francesca Galelli and Molly Curtis were left in tears after images accusing them of stealing were plastered across local media, Facebook and Twitter.
The pair became the prime suspects of a £459 theft from Superdrug in Ely, Cambs after an innocent trip to the store on April 4.
Cops have now issued a grovelling apology, who admitted they made "an honest mistake that had deeply unfortunate circumstances".
Francesca's older sister Claudia, 21, said her little sister came home crying after friends at Soham Village College showed her CCTV images accusing her of the crime.
She said: "I saw the article and I thought 'oh that looks like my sister' but I just thought she would never do anything like that so I just scrolled past it but I later got a phone call and learned friends
at school had shown her the story."
"It was really horrible for her. She is so young, she is such a good person, who never does anything wrong, she is the perfect student, this was really upsetting for her.
"When I spoke to her about it she said, 'I don't know what to do'. I told her to just tell people the truth - she did not do it.
"The worst thing for her was everybody looking at her at school and making comments but she is a strong person and held her head up high."
Francesca and Molly were out "shopping for a few bits" when the theft took place at around 3.15pm.
Speaking on behalf of the East Cambridgeshire policing district, Sgt Phil Priestley said: "We made an honest mistake that had deeply unfortunate circumstances.
"We always want to be clear and transparent if we get things wrong, and we definitely want to ensure that people know that Francesca and Molly are good people and that this wasn't their fault."
The error led to police revising district CCTV policies to prevent further mistakes in the future.
By way of an apology the police have invited Francesca and Molly to sit on a new Youth Consultation Panel designed to improve and promote the relationship that exists between local police and young people aged 12 to 16.