A Birmingham supply teacher who won her battle to remove DNA and fingerprint samples from a police database has said she suffered a nervous breakdown because of the experience.
Philippa Jones, aged 56, of Edgewood Road, Kings Norton, was falsely accused of hitting a child twice with a ruler but was not prosecuted.
The Crown Prosecution Service dismissed the case after her arrest but officers still decided to take a mug shot, fingerprints and a DNA sample.
Ms Jones received #250 damages from the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, plus her legal costs but she said the stress of the experience caused her more problems.
The mother of two, who has a 20-year unblemished teaching record and has worked in more than 250 primary and special schools, said she had a nervous breakdown shortly after.
She said: "I considered this a total infringement of my freedom. I was not going to stand by and have my record put on file with the police when I had done nothing wrong.
"I was fighting for the principle and I am delighted that I have won."
A statement before the High Court on Thursday said Ms Jones had been working at Watermill Primary School in Selly Oak on a one-day placement.
She had been arrested on June 14, 2005 and was taken to Kings Norton police station following the allegation made by an eight-year-old child.
"When the police called to ask me to come to the police station, they would not tell me what the allegation was until I got there," she said.
"I wondered if I had accidentally stepped on a child's toe, or perhaps hadn't given out the scissors fairly in class - I had no idea what they were about to allege.
"I strenuously denied it. But it just goes to show how vulnerable teachers are.
"I went into teaching because when I was at school in the 1950s, I saw children mistreated and I wanted to do my bit to stop that.
"So to be accused of hitting a child was devastating. It is the last thing I would ever do."
Chris Keates, the general secretary of the NASUWT union, said: "In this case, there was no evidence to support the allegation and yet our member was still detained without lawful authority and treated like a criminal."
