WORRIED father William Drury locked two social workers and a policeman in his March home after being told his 15-year-old daughter was moving in with her boyfriend. He had been told that the schoolgirl had made numerous allegations of assault, and instead

WORRIED father William Drury locked two social workers and a policeman in his March home after being told his 15-year-old daughter was moving in with her boyfriend.

He had been told that the schoolgirl had made numerous allegations of assault, and instead of returning to the family home, she would live with her boyfriend and his mother.

Prosecutor Graham Dalley told Fenland magistrates on Tuesday that Drury "expressed concerns about what would take place with his daughter in the home of her boyfriend."

After a 45-minute discussion, police liaison officer Andrew Wright-Lakin and social worker Sarah Adams got up to leave - and Drury said he had the door key and would not let them out until something was done.

A second social worker tried to persuade him to let them out. Drury said he wanted other options for his daughter to be considered, and was assured that his concerns would be investigated.

Drury then unlocked the door and Pc Wright-Lakin and Ms Adams left, but the second social worker stayed behind for further discussions.

The officer and social worker were held against their will for five minutes, and had been intimidated, said Mr Dalley. They had left safely and calmly, and Drury had been calm and controlled throughout the incident.

A charge of obstructing a police officer on February 3 was admitted by 39-year-old Drury, of Robingoodfellows Lane. An earlier charge of falsely imprisoning the officer and Ms Adams was withdrawn.

Mitigating, Anita Waterman said Drury felt the arrangements for his daughter were "wholly inappropriate" and he wanted to discuss things.

"He accepts he locked the front door, but the back door was open, so they were not imprisoned," she said. "He did not want the social worker to walk away before things were resolved."

Giving Drury a nine-month conditional discharge and ordering him to pay £50 costs, presiding magistrate Michael Allan told him: "This was a genuine misjudgement on your part, and it was impulsive. It was a minor obstruction, because the back door was open.