Yes, really.

It's the latest insane story of police overreach from the backwards UK, where stabbings are just an everyday occurrence and robberies are not even investigated, but people saying mean words about the 'wrong' things are thrown in prison.

Now responsible parenting is the target.

The LBC report notes:

History teacher Vanessa Brown, 50, spent seven-and-a-half hours in a custody cell on March 26 this year, following a claim she had stolen two iPads which were traced to her mother's house in Cobham, Surrey.

Yet it transpired that the two devices belonged to her daughters, and Ms Brown had merely confiscated them to encourage them to focus on their schoolwork, a fact Surrey Police has now acknowledged.

"I find it quite traumatic even talking about this now," Ms Brown recalled.

"At no point did they [the officers] think to themselves, 'Oh, this is a little bit of an overreaction for a moment, confiscating temporarily her iPads and popping over to her mum's to have a coffee'. It was just a complete overreaction.

It isn't made exactly clear who reported the iPads stolen, but it seems to have been the ex-partner of the woman.

In any case, why on Earth did police waste their time on this? Isn't there enough actual crime to deal with?

The police also prevented the woman from speaking to her own children following the accusation. They also pulled one of the children out of school for questioning.

Neil O'Brien, a Tory MP and shadow education minister, commented on the incident, noting "This is beyond absurd. People are having phones snatched all the time and police won't follow up even when they know where they are, yet a law abiding person can end up in a cell for hours on end for taking away their own kids' iPads."

Richard Tice, the deputy Reform UK leader, said that the "world has gone mad,"adding that "Police need to catch real criminals not mums looking after their children!"

Greg Smith, the shadow business minister, added his criticism, remarking "Absolutely mad. A parent chooses when their child gets screen time and anything that challenges that is absolutely bonkers."

Harry Miller, a former police officer who works with the free speech campaign group Fair Cop, urged that police in the UK are becoming "Stasi like".