Armed police in escaped tiger alert find... a cuddly toy
WHEN armed police were scrambled to a farm after receiving a report of a tiger on the loose, they expected to earn their stripes.
Terrified young farmer Bruce Grubb had spotted what he thought was a dangerous big cat in his cowshed.
Police checked with local wildlife parks and sent units including an armed response team, to the address near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.
But after a 45-minute standoff, Mr Grubb and the highly trained marksmen realised the intruder hadn’t moved and was a large, and rather realistic, soft toy. Police Scotland described the incident on Saturday evening as a ‘false call made with good intent’.
Mr Grubb, 24, who was having a housewarming party at the time, said: ‘I feel a bit silly for calling the police but I thought it was a real emergency.
‘I had absolutely no doubt it was real. I got a hell of a scare. I was worried it was going to eat all my cows before police managed to shoot it.
‘I flashed my torch in the shed and saw it sitting there.
‘I was stone cold sober, drink had nothing to do with me thinking it was real,’ he told the Scottish Sun. The farmer has no idea who may have put the soft toy in his shed.
Peterhead Inspector George Cordiner said: ‘Unusual as the call may have seemed, any call reporting a potential danger to the public has to be taken seriously. Until you know what you are dealing with, every option has to be considered.
‘The incident was stood down within 45 minutes once officers attended and established there was no threat.’
At least the officers saw the funny side of the tale. After removing the ‘beast’, they told an embarrassed Mr Grubb they wanted to keep it as a mascot.