The outraged family of two boys who were arrested at Shortlands station in Bromley are being given the opportunity to watch police body worn camera footage.

Two teenage boys were stopped by rail staff and police assisting with ticket checks at the station on the morning of Monday, December 5.

The Guardian has reported that the two boys, aged 13 and 15, were brothers on their way to school.

According to the British Transport Police, one of the boys did not show a valid ticket, and was initially arrested on suspicion of fare evasion.

He was then de-arrested at the scene and issued with a penalty fare.

The second boy was arrested on suspicion of common assault and possession of an offensive weapon.

He was taken to police custody and released a short time later with no further action taken against them.

Footage of the incident has circulated on social media, and the boys’ mum Sabreena told Channel 4 News: "You try so hard to keep them out of certain environments, you try to protect them and I sent them to school.

“That's all I did.

“You know, they are guilty of going to school, that's it.

“I got a call just before 9 o'clock from my 13-year-old son, he was really distressed, he was crying and couldn't speak."

Since then, the British Transport Police said it was “reviewing the footage fully by looking at CCTV, body worn camera footage from involved officers and speaking with Southeastern colleagues”.

Following the review, the force said it is “confident that officers acted proportionally”, and it has also offered the family the opportunity to watch officers’ body worn camera footage “so they can see what happened”.

The British Transport Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

The updated British Transport Police statement released on December 9 said: “Following the arrest of two teenagers at Shortlands station on Monday morning, we have been working to establish exactly what happened.

“Senior officers have reviewed the body worn videos that were worn by all of our officers involved in this incident.

“We are confident that our officers acted proportionately – and that they were professional and courteous throughout.

“We have heard the concerns felt by the family of the boys, and the wider community.

“We have offered the family the opportunity to watch officers' body worn camera footage, so they can see what happened.

“To demonstrate our commitment to ensuring full transparency, we have voluntarily referred ourselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

“The IOPC can now decide if there is to be an independent review of the incident and we will be co-operating fully.”

Initially, a spokesperson for the British Transport Police said: “Officers were at Shortlands station on the morning of 5 December assisting rail staff as they checked tickets.

“Two teenage boys were stopped by rail staff and one did not show a valid ticket. He was initially arrested on suspicion of fare evasion before being de-arrested at the scene and issued with a penalty fare.

“The second male was arrested on suspicion of common assault and possession of an offensive weapon.

“He was taken to police custody and was released a short time later with no further action taken against him.

“We are aware of concerns on social media regarding this incident and will be reviewing it fully – looking at CCTV, body worn camera footage from the involved officers and speaking with our colleagues at Southeastern.

“A senior officer will also be reaching out to the family.”