London: A Scout troop is under fire for posing as terrorists after staging a mock kidnap of a girl playing Prince William`s fiancee Kate Middleton, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Balaclava-clad Scouts kidnapped a teenager playing Middleton before going on a training exercise to find her, the newspaper reported.
Nearly 300 children aged between 11 and 15 were involved in the event, which was designed to foster map-reading skills, the broadsheet said.
They were from a Scout group based in Amersham.
Older Scouts played the parts of the prince and his bride to be, before she was abducted. The Scouts then hunted for clues on a 12-mile trek to find her.
Ros Aitken, a member of Amersham Town Council, said she was shocked.
"I`m horrified that something like this has taken place," she said.
"It does sound inappropriate."
But the event`s organiser, Brian Shelley, told the paper: "The Scouts loved it and found it very amusing.
"Nobody raised any concerns on the day, so I`m surprised to hear there were any."
The quest was harmless fun and simply an idea to mark the royal wedding, he said.
Another local councillor, Davida Allen, told The Telegraph: "I think the Scout movement is fabulous, but it does seem a bit of a strange way to do a search and rescue task."
Clarence House office declined to comment.
Bureau Report
