A regional daily newspaper has published a clarification after a complaint about an article on a cricket ball dispute.

Andrew Cocking contacted the Press Complaints Commission after two articles in the Southern Daily Echo in July saying they were inaccurate and misrepresented the behaviour of his children.

The stories reported a woman had been arrested after refusing to give back a cricket ball belonging to her neighbour’s children.

Mr Cocking’s complaint was resolved when the PCC negotiated the publication of the following clarification:

“Two articles of July 9 and July 21 in the Southern Daily Echo reported that Mrs Loretta Cole had been arrested for refusing to give back a cricket ball belonging to a neighbour’s children.

“Mrs Cole had claimed that children regularly came into her front garden and that her car had on one occasion been damaged.

“We have been asked by neighbour Mr Andrew Cocking to make clear that his children never caused any damage to Mrs Cole’s property.

“He has also said that the area in question is not an enclosed garden, but rather open land in front of Mrs Cole’s home.”