Police hunting two men over a gas bottles theft branded tip-offs they could be gipsies ‘offensive and unacceptable’ - then urged the travelling community to report the messages.
Kent Constabulary released an appeal for witnesses yesterday after a shop in Sutton Valence, near Maidstone was targeted on February 9.
Officers circulated a CCTV image of two men they said they wanted to speak to about the distraction theft just after 11.20am.
But the picture - which was shared on social media by the force - attracted a number of comments suggesting they could be from the travelling community.
They included posts which referenced the possibility it could have been stolen to power caravans.