A St Albans man has been threatened with a council injunction after he was arrested, despite never having been convicted.

Paul Standing, 65, from Dellfields was arrested after he allegedly racially abused someone on Marshall Avenue on Sunday, March 26.

He denies all the charges, and has been released on bail, yet the Tuesday after the incident, he received a letter from the council saying they knew he had been arrested, and would seek an injunction preventing him from visiting the street, where his daughter lives, if it happened again.

Mr Standing said: “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“My name and address should never have been given to the council.”

He claims he was visiting his daughter with his granddaughter for Mothering Sunday on the night of the alleged offence.

He left a short time later, and says he only stopped to visit the Co-Op on Cell Barnes Lane on the way home.

Mr Standing says around this time something happened towards his daughter’s neighbour.

He said: “I only know the other side.”

The police arrested him on the morning of Wednesday, March 28, and he was released on bail that evening.

On Friday, March 31, Mr Standing received the council’s letter.

It read: “Police are investigating this matter from the criminal side, however the council is also able to take civil action to protect residents.

“If there are further similar incidents reported, the council will consider applying for an injunction.”

Mr Standing was told by the police on Tuesday, April 4 there would be no further action brought against him.

St Albans council have refused to comment, but a Herts Police spokesperson said: “Information is shared with key partners to prevent and detect crime.

“There has been no breach of the Data Protection Act or our Information Sharing Agreement with the council in sharing information in this case.

“The sharing of information is done so on a case by case basis with confidentiality of information and the source at the heart of every decision.”

The information commissioner’s office says personal data may be disclosed “to prevent or detect crime”.