An American man has reportedly been arrested for charging an electric car at his child’s school.

The parent was apprehended for “stealing” electricity from an external socket at the school after dropping off his son for a tennis lesson nearby.

He is said to have hooked up the Nissan Leaf at Chamblee Middle School in the state of Georgia without permission for 20 minutes, using 5 cents worth of energy.

A police officer reportedly came across him at the time and held him for 15 hours at a later date.

Investment adviser Kaveh Kamooneh plans to challenge the charges saying: “No-one’s ever been arrested for that,” reported green car website recombu.

He compared his action to charging a mobile phone: “I’m waiting for them to arrest water drinkers and cell phone chargers,” reported ABC news.