SOHAM mother-of-four Rachel Palmer couldn t believe it when a policeman called at her home at night to investigate the case of the missing shuttlecock. He asked to search her garden and then told her she was suspected of stealing the 50p shuttlecock. I t

SOHAM mother-of-four Rachel Palmer couldn't believe it when a policeman called at her home at night to investigate the case of the missing shuttlecock.

He asked to search her garden and then told her she was suspected of stealing the 50p shuttlecock.

"I thought Jeremy Beadle was going to jump out," said 25-year-old Rachel. "I couldn't believe the officer didn't have more important incidents to deal with."

The trouble began when two teenage girls called at Rachel's home earlier in the day saying they had lost the shuttlecock while playing in a neighbouring garden.

Rachel went and searched her garden but told them she couldn't find it.

Two hours later the girls came back and Rachel's husband went and searched the garden again without any luck.

At 8pm that night, after Rachel had put her four young children to bed, the police officer called at her home.

"He asked to go into the garden and my blood started to boil," said Rachel. "He was quite off-hand with my husband who asked him to leave.

"I told the girls earlier in the day that if I found the shuttlecock I would pop it over. If I knew they were that upset about it I would have bought them another one."

Rachel phoned Ely Police to complain but decided not to make a formal complaint against the officer.

A Cambridgeshire Police spokesman said: "It seemed that there had been a neighbour dispute. The officer was in the area on patrol and was asked to investigate this complaint.

"The officer in question has been spoken to.