A 12-year-boy was hurled to the floor and placed in handcuffs by police for walking his e-scooter around an abandoned chapel in Wales.

Zain Evans was exploring the disused church in Pontardawe, Swansea Valley, on Wednesday when he was suddenly accosted by officers on the afternoon of October 28.

Police reportedly confiscated Zain’s scooter, as well as both his and a friend’s phone.

He is now in hospital receiving treatment for injuries caused by smashed glass, his mother Emily said.

Footage showed Zain and his friend being confronted by police as the 12-year-old told officers he needed the scooter to get to school.

The pair were taking the vehicle to be repaired at Zain’s friend’s house after its electrics stopped working, but noticed the desolate chapel on the way, recounted Ms Evans, who spotted her son being detained as she was driving by.

‘That child is a darling, he’s got a heart of gold’, she told Daily Mail.

The worried mother said the officers’ conduct was ‘completely out of order’ and said her son had been shaken by the experience.

A clip of the incident recorded on a mobile phone shows an officer telling the boys they were ‘lying’ and that they weren’t ‘born yesterday’ when they insisted they were taking the scooter to be repaired rather than riding it.

Zain was then detained as officers pulled his arms behind his back so fiercely he allegedly heard a ‘pop’.

Ms Evans said that while she had been given details of how to recover the e-scooters, the compound where they were supposed to be being kept claimed to have no knowledge of them.

She had accompanied Zain to hospital in Port Talbot, where his arm was placed in a sling.

The mother said that the boys could not have been riding Zain’s scooter as it was broken, she added.

A spokesperson for South Wales Police said: ‘Officers observed a suspected incident of criminal damage to a disused church on Swansea Road, Pontardawe at around 2:15pm on Wednesday October 28.

‘While attending this incident, officers conducted searches of individuals believed to have committed offences and seized an e-scooter which was believed to have been used illegally.

‘We are aware of footage of this incident which has been circulated on social media and understand concern from the community in regards to use of force.

‘The mother of the young person has been contacted by officers and the incident has been referred for review by our Professional Standards Department.’

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