Poppy burning teenager meets forces personnel in lieu of criminal charges Memorial poppy wreaths on Remembrance Sunday. Linford House's picture of a burning poppy was condemned by war veterans but his arrest prompted allegations of overzealous policing of the internet. A teenager who was arrested after posting a picture of a burning poppy on Facebook has met serving and former members of the armed services as part of a restorative justice programme. Linford House, 19 and from Aylesham, was detained on Remembrance Sunday in Canterbury, Kent, after the image he put up of a poppy being torched by a lighter was reported to police. It was accompanied by an offensive message that reportedly said: "How about that you squadey [sic] c****." On Wednesday, he met an ex-naval marine, a sergeant major, members of the Royal British Legion and representatives from an army-affiliated charity in Canterbury. Kent police said House agreed "to discuss the impact of his actions and find out how it affected others." As a result he has not been charged with any offence. War veterans and community leaders condemned his Facebook posting, but his arrest prompted allegations from some quarters of overzealous policing of the internet. Civil liberties groups criticised the detention as a restriction on freedom of expression. House's father Keith said his son was drunk when he posted the picture, which he subsequently deleted and could not remember putting up. He said his son had been "idiotic" but should have been told off rather than arrested. House was moved out of Aylesham for his own protection after the incident. The director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, issued guidelines on Tuesday for the prosecution of people who misuse social media under which they are less likely to face prosecution if they take down a message and express remorse. In March 2011, Emdadur Choudhury, a member of Muslims Against Crusades, was fined £50 at Belmarsh magistrates court for the "calculated and deliberate" insult to the dead of burning two replica poppies during the two-minute silence commemorating Armistice Day on 11 November. Choudhury had denied a public order offence of burning the poppies in a way likely to cause "harassment, harm or distress" to witnesses.