Boy warned over coronavirus hoax

“Everyone is doing their best to comply with social distancing.

“But his parents were with him and they didn’t say or do anything.

“A good parent would have said sorry, or told me he was just pulling my leg, but I noticed there was a jogger behind me and the boy went up to them and did the same thing.

“Again his parents didn’t say anything.

“I jogged for another five minutes but it was sitting heavily on my mind.

“I was worried about the elderly people I had passed further down the road, so I contacted the police and they sent someone out to have a word with him.

“Maybe the parents and the boy will wake up and realise you must not do that to people – it is a serious thing to be joking about.”

Officers traced the boy and gave him a warning in front of his parents.

Inspector Emma Bowman, of Blairgowrie police station, said: “Around 3pm on Thursday April 23, officers received a report of a youth approaching a man and informing him he had Covid-19.

“Officers attended and traced an 11-year-old boy on Station Road near Longforgan.

“The boy was spoken to about his conduct in front of his parents and warned about his behaviour.

“This type of conduct is completely unacceptable and I would like to take this opportunity to ask parents to remind their children this kind of behaviour is more than just a prank – it can cause genuine fear and increased anxiety in the current climate.

“Officers will not tolerate anyone behaving like this and will take robust action to find those responsible.”

The incident comes after a survey revealed girls are being groped and flashed on the streets during the lockdown period and are too afraid to venture out alone.

About one in five girls said they have experienced harassment during the Covid-19 crisis, according to a poll for the children’s charity Plan International.

More than 1,000 girls and young women aged between 14 and 21 were surveyed online between April 9-20.

About a fifth (190) said they have experienced harassment including being catcalled, followed, groped, flashed and upskirted.