A TV florist’s visit to Redcar took a bizarre turn after he was plucked from a seafront cafe by police probing an alleged terrorism-related incident.
Jonathan Moseley - the floral expert on BBC2’s The Big Allotment Challenge - had popped to Redcar for the day with his partner Bish Sharif during their regular February holiday break in a Whitby cottage.
But as they sat down to their lunch of quiche, salad and chips in Redcar’s Terrace Cafe earlier today, police turned up.
And for 15 surreal minutes, they found themselves being quizzed on the pavement about possible involvement in terrorist-related activity.
Gardening celeb Jonathan is now planning to make a formal complaint to Cleveland Police after the “unbelievable” incident.
A professional floral expert for more than 20 years, Jonathan says his ordeal began as he and Bish sat down to lunch in the West Terrace cafe.
Ian Cooper/The Gazette 
TV Gardener Jonathan Moseley (left) and Bish Sharif
He said: “A police van pulled up outside, then a policeman and woman entered the cafe and walked towards our table.
“They asked me and my partner to step outside because they needed to talk to us about an incident.
“When I said ‘what?’ they said no, we needed to step outside - that it would be less embarrassing for us if we did.
“They said we’d been seen on CCTV in New Look approaching staff and telling them not to worry, that we were military police and monitoring a possible terrorist incident happening in Redcar.
“It was totally bizarre - we hadn’t even been in New Look. In fact, we don’t even know where New Look is in Redcar. But they were adamant CCTV footage confirmed it was us.”
Jonathan says he and Bish were made to stand outside “with half of Redcar watching” while police continued their investigation.
He said: “I asked to see the CCTV footage but I was told I had no right to see it and in fact, I could be arrested at any time under anti-terrorism legislation.
“Apparently the reason we were linked to it was we fitted the description of wearing boots and dark jackets.
“But even though I knew we’d done nothing wrong, I was starting to get really panicky - it looked like we might get arrested for a potentially serious offence we had absolutely no knowledge of.
“But eventually, they told us it might be a case of mistaken identity and we were free to go.”
Jonathan, who confirmed he will making an official complaint “once I’ve calmed down”, said: “We just came for a nice afternoon out to Redcar - we certainly didn’t expect to be held outside a cafe on suspicion of a terrorist offence.
“The whole thing lasted about 15 to 20 minutes but it seemed like a lifetime.
“Redcar Police need to be held accountable for this. It’s just such a negative thing to happen to people coming to Redcar as tourists, hoping to enjoy a nice day out. We certainly don’t feel like rushing to come back.”
Terrace cafe boss Anne Ellis said she felt sorry for the duo. She said: “They just came in, two nice lads, ordered their food and sat at the table in front of the window.
“Then a policeman came inside and said he needed to talk to them and it would be better if they went outside.
“We were fairly busy at the time so it was in front of everybody.
“I felt sorry for them because they were out in the cold for ages and looked terrified when they came back in, really shaken up.
“They weren’t the type of people you’d think police would normally take out of a cafe. And if they had done anything, why would they have sat in the front window, where anyone could see them?”
A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said: “We would like to apologise to these two gentlemen for any disruption to their afternoon caused by some confusion with descriptions.
“Two other gentlemen were spoken to and all parties were given advice.”
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