Tidy Kiwi sparks police callout

A broom-wielding man walking the street in a small Taranaki town sparked a police callout following reports he was toting a firearm.

Police sent a ‘‘number of units’’ to the intersection of Celia and Hamlet streets in Stratford shortly before 2pm yesterday after someone reported a person carrying a gun.

However, the supposed firearm turned out to be nothing more than a broom with a silver handle, police said. No arrests were made.

The incident follows two armed callouts in the town earlier in the year, one of which forced the local high school into lockdown.

Armed police surrounded the Stratford High School about 8.20am on February 15, stopping people coming in or out for three hours, following reports of a gunman on its grounds.

South Taranaki acting senior sergeant Andrew Russ said the report had been a hoax and police had identified a youth involved with it, and at least two other bogus calls to police.

One of the calls was made two nights before the school lockdown on February 13.