Chichester: Six pupils from Bishop Luffa School have been served with ASBOS after repeatedly harassing Betty Johnston a lollypop lady from the nearby village of Barnham.

The pupils who haven't been named (although their real names are Morris Neil, Jeffery Reebus, Ron Perrot, Hamid Tracey, Randall Thomas and Davina Redcliffe,) were ordered to do four months of quadradic equations divided between them and multiplied by a factor of five for every offence they commit in the next year.

Not for lickin'

Their crime has attracted publicity from across the world. Their victim Betty Johnston explains: 'I've know these kids for years and they've never given me any trouble then
suddenly it all changed. Redcliffe one morning dropped to her knees and started licking my clothes. It was very odd. To be honest I didn't think too much about it at first I just assumed she was high on alcopops or something, but then it happened the next day, and the day after that. Before long they were all at it.'

Despite requests, which included letters to their parents, this daily assault happened, well, daily.

'It was very traumatic,' Johnston said.

Eventually the group were busted by undercover policemen who arrested them on charges of HBL (heinous body licking).

In court this charge was dropped after it emerged the prank was simply the result of the children trying to contrive a very bad pun by suggesting that a lollipop lady might actually be a lollipop.

Nonetheless in light of the trauma suffered by Johnston, who now says that she can't bare anyone - including her plumber husband Graham - from licking her, the group were served ASBOS.

Perrot who recently failed his cycling proficiency test and Grade One oboe was delighted, 'this is the first certificate for achievement I've ever had,' he said.

It's possible it might not be the last too.

Posted by damian at April 21, 2006 03:15 PM