A teenager was given a warning by police for dangerous driving – despite only going 4mph on a mobility scooter.

Bewildered Sam Scutt could not believe his eyes when two police cars with lights and sirens blaring swooped on him as he drove through Gravesend town centre on his scooter.

The 17-year-old, of The Avenue, Gravesend, was shopping in New Road on Saturday, June 6, when about five officers stopped and questioned him for dangerous driving, he claims.

Mr Scutt, who is studying media at Dartford’s North West Kent College, said officers had threatened to take the scooter away and put three penalty points on his provisional driving licence, before conceding he had not committed a criminal offence.

Sam said: "I was doing a few jobs for my dad in town so I thought I would take the scooter.

"I was by Debenhams when two police cars drove towards me.

"An officer on a bike stopped beside me and security guards came out of a shop.

"It looked as if there had been an armed robbery with the amount of police there."

After 15 minutes of questioning, Sam said he was given a warning for dangerous driving – even though he had not actually committed an offence.

Kent Police has defended its response as "proportionate" because it treats antisocial use of scooters and unlicensed vehicles as a high priority.

Chief Inspector Pete Ayling said: "Local residents regularly contact us to report dangerous and inconsiderate riding. As such, we investigate and deal with people thought to be acting in an antisocial manner.

"There was no evidence that a crime had been committed on this occasion so only a warning was given. The number of officers involved is a consequence of the incident happening in a busy town centre, many of whom responded to the same issue."