False Alarm! Passenger mistakes umbrella for machete, calls police
But the police had arrived, all set for action, before the real identity of the object was verified.
“We were called at 9.23am to reports of a male on board a bus believed to be carrying a sword or machete,” a Metropolitan Police Service spokesman said.
“We located the bus and we stopped the bus and spoke with the driver. We viewed the CCTV and on closer inspection, it was found to be an umbrella.”
A similar incident occurred on Monday, December 7, when policemen stormed a packed train in Deptford following the reports of an armed man in one of its carriages.
As it turned out, the man in question, Ray Brown, was carrying an umbrella.
We were called at 10.30am on Monday, 7 December, following reports of a man carrying an item which looked like a sword on a train travelling towards Deptford,” he said.
“Officers met the train at Deptford station and spoke to the man. The item was found to be an umbrella, and no further action was necessary.
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