A British woman said she felt "like a criminal" when police in Watton, England, warned her about breastfeeding her baby in public, a report said.

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Margaret Boyle-White said she left a post office recently to tend to her crying 6-month-old child, Niamh. But after five minutes of breastfeeding outside, a police officer arrived.

"He then asked me to refrain from breastfeeding in public," Boyle-White told The London Daily Mail. "He said he could not 'do me' for it, but suggested that I use a restaurant or cafe in future.

"I couldn't believe it. He made me feel like a criminal for doing something which is perfectly natural," Boyle-White said.

The incident prompted Labor Party member David Kidney to introduce a bill in Parliament to levy a nearly $4,300 fine for interfering with a woman's right to breastfeed publicly.

Police defended the action as being handled in a professional, discreet manner.