A MAN spent the night in cells after being wrongly arrested for breaching a restraining order which had been dropped more than a week earlier.

Lee Francis, aged 30, from Laxton Avenue, Worcester, said his family suffered from distress after he was arrested at his home on Friday, March 10.

The father-of-two says he was arrested in his home at 1.36am for breaching a domestic violence restraining order – even though it had been discharged by Worcester Magistrates Court on Thursday, March 2.

The Ministry of Justice has acknowledged the mistake, saying these types of incidents are "extremely rare" and that immediate action was taken to inform the police once the court was made aware of the error.

Mr Francis said: "I put a complaint in as to why I got arrested and they said 'I'm ever so sorry'.

"When they delved into my file they could see the court had failed to inform the police.

"I spent the night in the cells. I lost a day's pay for it. The children didn't go to school on Friday.

"They were woken up by the commotion. My little lad witnessed me get taken away by a police van and was asking why are they taking my daddy.

"I'm no angel but this embarrassed me. I have been in a bit of trouble in the past but I'm sorting myself out, and then this happens.

"It's a massive mistake."

Mr Francis had been living in private accommodation elsewhere but had returned home after the restraining order was discharged.

He thinks a member of the local neighbourhood watch saw his work vehicle in the driveway and contacted the police.

The construction worker says he is now thinking of suing for damages due to the distress caused to his family and his loss of earnings.

"I can't afford to have time off. It's messing with my livelihood, most companies when you're self-employed and don't turn up on Friday say 'go on, do one'," he said.

"I don't know who it is I'm going to sue. The court said all they can do is apologise and I said that's not good enough."

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "We are investigating what happened in this case. We are in communication with the parties involved."

Superintendent Kevin Purcell, of West Mercia Police, said: "We have since been informed that the warrant had been discharged by the court at an earlier hearing, and the man was no longer wanted.

"I understand that the man has received an apology from the court, and I will ensure that we discuss with them how this has occurred and what we can do to prevent it reoccurring."