Armed police officers in the United Kingdom responded to a report of a man carrying a “large knife” in a hotel this weekend, only to find that the man was a Harry Potter fan carrying only a wand as a weapon.
Armed police officers raided the hotel in Enderby, near Leicester, on Sunday morning. Police officer Nick Ward said:
This morning I arrived at a large hotel in Enderby with several officers with firearms training after a report of a male carrying a “large knife” near the elevators. After questioning, we quickly identified him as a Harry Potter fan with a wand.
Fortunately no residents were harmed and there was no sign of ‘Voldermort’.
Facebook users were quick to see the funny side, with Letasha Mone Noonan writing, “Are you serious (Sirius)?! (the name of the character Sirius in the series sounds similar to the English word ‘serious’ – cf. Mark James Smith added, “EXPECTO PATROL-MAN (expecto patrol-man; a pun on the spell ‘expecto patronum’ in the series – sigh).”
Although officers do not encounter funny incidents every day, from time to time, amusing “crimes” are reported. In 2023, police officers breathed a sigh of relief when a “lifeless body” found in a farmer’s field turned out to be a scarecrow. The police had responded to a report from a passenger who had seen the figure through a train window.
Police officer Christopher Windsor-Beck told the BBC at the time that he was relieved that what was suspected to be a body was a fallen railing. Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire, the officer said:
Of course, we must treat the situation with urgency, as we never know if there is someone who needs help.
The scarecrow, described by police officers on the scene as well-dressed, was wearing work pants and an inflatable jacket.
Police officer Windsor-Beck told the broadcaster that the caller apologized when she realized she was wrong, but he insisted that she had done the right thing. “You never know if it’s a farmer in a field who needs help, or a hiker, or a lost person,” Windsor-Beck said.
