Doting father, 46, taking his daughter, 14, to visit his cancer-stricken mother is stunned when Travelodge staff call police on him because they think he is a PAEDOPHILE

Karl Pollard, 46, was taking Stephanie, 14, to visit his mother, who was suffering from cancer 

Karl Pollard, 46, was forced to fend off claims he was a sex offender after booking into a Travelodge in Cheshire - only for workers to call the authorities after mistakenly believing he was grooming an underage girl.

Mr Pollard, had taken Stephanie, 14, to visit his mum, who had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and checked into the hotel, near her home in Macclesfield earlier this month. But not long after arriving, the police knocked on the door of the room and levelled the baseless accusations against him.

He said: “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.”

The pair had made the four-hour train journey from their home in south Wales to visit his mother.

He explained: “My mum has just been diagnosed with aggressive lung cancer. We’re not sure how long she has left.

“I wanted to take Stephanie down to visit her before she started treatment.” Mr Pollard, who also cares for wife Kim, 45, who has multiple sclerosis, was forced to book a double bedroom because it was the only room left.

He said: “When we arrived the receptionist gave me a weird look but I thought nothing of it.

“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’.”

The policewoman interviewed Mr Pollard and Stephanie separately. He said: “I explained to her that I was Stephanie’s dad. The officer had to ask her loads of questions to prove it.”

The matter was rapidly dropped, but Stephanie was left “distraught” as a result. Mr Pollard said: “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. It was an already traumatic trip. I was treated disgustingly.”

A Travelodge spokesman said: “"We are sorry for any distress caused to Mr Pollard. We take our responsibilities towards protecting children and vulnerable young people extremely seriously. All our hotel teams are trained according to national guidelines supported by the NSPCC, which have also been approved by the National Working Group on child sexual exploitation, South Yorkshire Police and the MET Police.

In the past, proactive action by our hotel teams has helped to safeguard young people at risk. In this instance we got it wrong and we have apologised to Mr Pollard, as well as refunded his stay.”

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.”