For Staying In The Same Hotel Room With Daughter, 14, Man Branded Paedophile By Travelodge Staff

A father was accused of being a paedophile by Travelodge staff after he booked a room with his teenage daughter when they went to visit his mother in hospital, Metro reports.

Karl Pollard, 46, was horrified when police raided his room after the hotel reported him for suspected grooming.

He was staying in the Travelodge in Macclesfield, Cheshire, with his 14-year-old daughter Stephanie to see his mother, who suffers from cancer.

They had traveled four hours on the train from their home in south Wales to make the visit.

Mr Pollard told the Daily Star: ‘I couldn’t believe it. It was an emotional trip already – but it was made so much worse.

‘One minute I was brushing my teeth, the next I was being told I was a paedophile.’

He said he wanted to make the trip so his daughter could visit her grandmother before she starts treatment for aggresive lung cancer.

‘We’re not sure how long she has left,’ he said.

Mr Pollard, who cares for his wife Kim, 45, who has multiple sclerosis, booked a double bedroom for him and Stephanie after being told it was the only room left.

‘When we arrived the receptionist gave me a weird look but I thought nothing of it,’ he said.

‘We went up to the room to get unpacked and ready to see my mum.

‘It was only a 20-minute walk away – which is why I chose the hotel.

‘About 10 minutes later there was a knock at the door. A policewoman was standing there. I thought something had happened to my mum or my wife.

‘But she said, “We’ve had a call from Travelodge, they believe you are a paedophile grooming underage girls”.’

He says his daughter was left ‘distraught’ after being interviewed by police.

‘My daughter was in tears. She was so scared – and thought I was going to get taken away. This has never happened to me before,’ he said.

Travelodge have given Karl a full refund for his stay and offered him an apology.

A spokesman said: ‘All our hotel teams are trained according to national guidelines supported by the NSPCC.

‘In the past proactive action by our hotel teams has helped to safeguard young people at risk. In this instance we got it wrong.’

A Cheshire Police spokesman said: ‘Police were called at 3pm on Thursday, February 8, to reports of suspicious activity at a hotel on Waters Green in Macclesfield.

‘Staff at the Travelodge did the right thing by reporting what they believed to be suspicious activity to officers, although thankfully there was nothing untoward and it turned out to be a misunderstanding.’