Armed police send helicopter and dogs to investigate man with rake

A man was confronted by armed police officers when gardening, it has been reported.

Police sent a helicopter, an armed response unit and dog handlers to a late-night report of a man brandishing a weapon.

That 'weapon' turned out to be a gardening rake, however. Wayne Dodd had been helping friend Stephen Hogan when they noticed the presence of the helicopter.

Dorchester Police had been called after a neighbour rang the police and made a report about a man brandishing a weapon.

Mr Hogan said that police officers asked to check the garden after receiving the 999 call.

Mr Hogan said: "All of a sudden there was a lot of commotion. My wife Alison looked outside and saw about five police cars, armed officers and dogs. They came to the door saying someone had a weapon."

"The incident occurred just before midnight when the helicopter team confirmed someone was in the garden. It’s reassuring they checked it out, but in the end they did all that just to see what was going on in our garden."

Just days before the incident, it was reported that last week police in Aldershot, Hants, sent armed officers and a helicopter to intercept a man reported to be armed with a shotgun on a bridge.

However, the man in question was only carrying two didgeridoos.

Commenting on the incident, a spokesman for Dorset Police said: "We had a report of someone with a weapon but it turned out to be someone who was doing some late night gardening using a rake. It was a misinterpretation of what the caller had seen."