Dad drags girl by the hair in supermarket

Police are investigating a US father after a woman posted photos to Facebook of him dragging his daughter around a supermarket by her hair.

Erika Burch and her husband Robert were in a Walmart in Cleveland, Texas when she saw a little girl crying.

Photos snapped by Mrs Burch show the girl’s father had wrapped her hair around the handle of the shopping trolley and was pulling her along.

According to Mrs Burch, the girl was saying: "Please stop. I promise I won't do it again. Please stop!"

Mrs Burch said she told the man to let go of the girl's hair, but he told her to stop interfering and that he’d “grown up just fine”.

That’s when Mrs Burch called the police.

Police arrived on the scene but said they were unable to do anything because the child was not injured.

Cleveland Police said in a statement the case was being investigated by its department and child protective services.

“The Cleveland Police Department has received numerous calls in regards to a child having her hair pulled last night at Cleveland Wal-Mart. We want to ensure the community this case is currently being investigated,” the statement said.

Mrs Burch’s post has been shared more than 50,000 times in the past 24 hours.

“People are telling me I'm wrong for stepping up for this little girl, but you can discipline a child without dragging them by the hair on their head, especially in Walmart,” Mrs Burch told KTRK.