The police have denied using excessive force against an elderly woman who swam with her dog in Qawra in an incident that made the rounds on Facebook.

An internal investigation held when the story surfaced on the internet two days ago found the officers had acted within established regulations, according to a police spokeswoman.

She said the incident was “a misunderstanding” and the elderly woman had no intention of taking action against the police.

The incident happened last week when the woman was swimming in the Fra Ben area holding on to a surfboard with her Yorkshire terrier on top of it.

A beach warden allegedly took umbrage at the presence of the dog in the bathing area, even if it had not touched the water, and called the police.

According to a detailed account on Facebook posted by someone claiming to be an eyewitness, two police officers – a man and a woman – lifted the woman out of the water and dragged her along the rocks.

Another two officers joined in and the woman was allegedly pinned down on the rocks face up as she begged the police not to take her dog away.

At this point the woman suffered what appeared to be a panic attack and an ambulance had to be called.

The police spokeswoman said the investigation kicked in the moment the police were alerted to the Facebook post and all those involved were questioned.

“The police followed regulations and procedures and there was no excessive use of force against the alleged victim, who from her end does not have any intention to proceed against the police since she realised there was a misunderstanding on her behalf,” the spokeswoman said.