Dad left furious after his shy daughter was allegedly subjected to foul mouthed tirade from Portsmouth council gardener after posing for picture at rock gardens

The 14-year-old girl, who does not like crowded places and had to be persuaded to make the outing, was left crying, ‘embarrassed and humiliated’ after the gardener allegedly reacted angrily at Southsea Rock Gardens.

Furious dad Sean McGovern, 44, said he tried to intervene to protect his daughter Precious before he was squared up to during the ‘unbelievable’ foul-mouthed tirade on Tuesday around 1pm.

Sean, of Southsea, said: ‘We were at the rock gardens and my daughter was standing next to a plant for a picture and the gardener came over and started shouting and swearing at her.

‘He told her to “get off the gardens, you silly little cow”. I then said to him: “Calm down mate, she’s only 14.”

‘He replied: “What are you going to do about it?” It all happened in front of my partner and nine-year-old son.

‘Precious started crying and was left embarrassed and humiliated by what happened and felt intimidated and upset. She doesn’t want to go out anymore.

‘We’d had to persuade her to make the visit. It was the first time she had been out for a while. We thought a nice walk and visit to the peaceful rock gardens would be nice.

‘I can’t believe how rude and aggressive you can be over a picture in a communal gardens - it’s disgusting.’

Sean said he approached the nearby council depot to report the incident but was told by the gardener’s manager: ‘He’s going through a hard time at the moment.’

But the dad said there was ‘no excuse’ for talking to a child in such a hostile manner.

‘He should not be allowed to work in a public area if he is going to talk to people like that,’ Sean said.

‘I’m pretty sure if I spoke to someone like that at my work I would not get away with it.

‘I can’t sit back and do nothing. The behaviour was not acceptable. I would like something done to him. It was unbelievable.’

The dad has launched a complaint to police and Portsmouth City Council.

He described the council worker as being in his late 40s or early 50s.

No arrests have been made yet while the city council has launched a probe into the incident.

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A police spokesman said: ‘We received a report of a public order incident at The Rock Gardens in Southsea.

‘It’s alleged that a man and his daughter were subjected to verbal abuse and aggressive behaviour from another man.

‘The local neighbourhoods policing team have been informed. No arrests have been made.’

A council spokesman said: ‘We insist on the highest standards of behaviour from our employees and any allegations are taken very seriously. We've started a full investigation into this complaint and will respond as soon as it's completed.’