Thank-you kiss on the cheek was sexual assault, says police appeal

POLICE have been ridiculed for hunting a man who kissed a woman on the cheek to thank her for helping him to free his lorry from under a bridge.

The Derbyshire force said it was treating the act as sexual assault, and launched an appeal for witnesses to the incident, in Matlock on Tuesday.

After the woman in her 70s helped guide the HGV clear of the bridge, one of the men in the lorry got out, thanked her and kissed her on the cheek.

Derbyshire Police said: “We want to

‘It would be classed as a sexual assault, as the woman did not [ask] the man to kiss her on the cheek’

speak to anyone who was in the area at the time, and may be able to help our enquiries into the incident.

“Of particular interest are any drivers who may have captured the lorry on dashcam.”

In a tweet, the force said: “It would be classed as a sexual assault, as the woman did not [ask] the man to kiss her on the cheek.”

But after the appeal sparked a backlash on social media, it was removed from the force’s website, and the tweet directing people to it was deleted.

Twitter users had branded the appeal “peak insanity”, called Derbyshire Police “a complete laughing stock” and likened the tweets to a parody account.

Derbyshire Police have previously been accused of “nanny policing” after taking drone footage of people walking in the Peak District during the coronavirus lockdown.