And finally… stuffed

A farmer near Peterhead called the police on Saturday after spotting the big cat lying down in his cowshed — but it turned out not to be real.

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 and efforts were made to verify the sighting as soon as possible, including starting to make contact with the nearest wildlife park to make sure they did not have an escapee.

“As is standard practice when we are made aware of a potential threat to the public the use of firearms officers was considered as a contingency. In this case, they attended the area in support of the local community officers but they were not deployed nor required.”

Mr Cordiner added: “Our ultimate aim is to protect the public and keep our officers safe when faced with uncertain situations. Until you know exactly 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 to the public. We appreciate that it was a false call made with genuine good intent.”