POLICE have publicly apologised to a Hull teenager wrongly locked up overnight and promised his DNA will be deleted from a controversial database.

In what is believed to be an unprecedented move locally, officers have agreed to destroy a sample of DNA taken from 15-year-old Joshua Stevens after his arrest.

The apology from Humberside Police's Assistant Chief Constable Alan Lever was made after the Mail revealed earlier this month how the teenager had been arrested in what appeared to be a case of mistaken identity.

Joshua was arrested at his family home in Kyffen Avenue, east Hull, in connection with an alleged attack on a 14-year-old girl and held in a cell overnight before being released without charge.

His parents, who were in Lancashire at the time about to go on holiday from Manchester Airport, subsequently claimed a senior officer investigating their complaint admitted the force had "messed up".

Mr Lever's apology was read out in a statement issued to a full meeting of Hull City Council, where councillors were due to debate a motion criticising the police over the incident.

Alan Stevens, Joshua's father, said: "It is reassuring to know that Joshua's DNA will not be held on the database, and it was nice to hear a public apology.

"But we are still waiting to hear the results of an internal investigation being conducted by the force's professional standards branch."

Mr Lever said Joshua had been arrested after information had been passed on to the police in good faith which "seemed to be reliable".

Mr Lever said: "Further enquiries revealed this boy was not involved and was released from custody.

"We are sorry he was arrested and kept in a cell overnight. For this I apologise."

Mr Lever, who issued the statement on behalf of Chief Constable Tim Hollis, who is currently in New Zealand, also confirmed Joshua's DNA sample would be destroyed without the need for the family to make a formal application to the force.

It is believed only a handful of DNA samples from innocent people have ever been voluntarily destroyed by UK police forces.

Samples can now be retained from anyone arrested, regardless of whether they were charged or cautioned for any offence.

But the DNA database has been criticised by some people.

Despite Mr Lever's statement, councillors agreed to back a motion by former police authority chairman

City councillors have repeatedly called for Mr Hollis to re-think his force's current policies on holding DNA samples belonging to people who not charged or convicted of any offence after being arrested.

The Government is currently consulting on plans to allow police forces to store innocent DNA on the national criminal database for up to six years despite a recent European Court of Human Rights judgment which declared the policy as unlawful.