There are more and more stories of police doing the stupidest things coming out of Britain. What's going on over there? Wasn't this the place were the volunteer cops wouldn't jump into the water to rescue the drowning kid?

No, the cops here were doing the right thing.
The headline is misleading. He was not held for questioning, he was not arrested for telling some kid to pick up litter.

You missed the most important part:
Right there the man broke the law. He does not have the right to grab the boy (assault) and refuse to let him go (kidnapping or unlawful arrest)

The fact that the kid littered had nothing to do with the situation.

He is damn lucky that he was not charged with a crime in the end. He did commit a crime.

He is also lucky it didn't happen in america where he'd be charged with a sex crime and would also be facing a civil suit from the parents of the kid.

That is true. He would have been worse off here. If that would have happened 30 years ago this wouldn't have been an issue. I think times have made things change for the worse (for some things). As a 12-year-old, I wouldn't have littered, it was something I was taught not to do. I definitely wouldn't have spouted off to an adult. The kid needed to be taught manners but with all our rules and regulations about you can't do that without being arrested.

Umm... wow. I would be happy if some guy did that to my kid. Kids should not be allowed to roam wild and do whatever the hell they please just because we are afraid to confront them for fear of a lawsuit. Nothing that man did to the boy warrented any sort of arrest.

Again, read the article, read my comment.

He did not "confront" the kid.

He physically grabbed the kid, held him captive against his wishes, refused to let him go and used force to get the kid to do what he wanted.

That is a crime. Pure and simple.

It doesn't matter why the guy did it. It doesn't matter if the victim was 12 or 54. It doesn't matter if he was littering or if was merely loitering or even wearing baggy pants.

You simply can not do what he did. It is against the law.

You claim you wouldn't mind if some adult a 100lbs heavier and a foot or more taller than your child manhandled him into doing his demands, what if it was you that was grabbed and physically restrained?

How would you react if some huge guy a foot taller than you, much stronger, and intimidating, grabbed you and bent you to his desires? Even if you did litter, would that justify someone to assault you and hold you captive?

How would you react if the person was your wife or daughter?

This was a smart mouth little 12yr old that was being a punk. Not some woman going around minding her own business and littering. He wasn't being held captive, that guy grabbed the top of his jacket, and in no way shape or form does that count at kidnapping. That is a terrible exaggeration.

You cannot treat a child like an adult, they are not the same and do require different treatment.