Hoax call claims body buried in Surbiton park (From Your Local Guardian)

Hoax call claims body buried in Surbiton park

11:47am Tuesday 23rd February 2010 in Kingston By Martin George

A hoax call about a dead body buried in Victoria Recreation Ground, Surbiton, wasted nine-and-a-half hours of police time on Friday, February 19.

Police closed the park at 1.38am after Radio Jackie passed on an anonymous midnight call claiming a woman had been buried in the park.

The police called in a victim recovery dog, specially trained to locate human remains, and a police helicopter, which was unable to respond due to bad weather.

Witnesses said police cordoned off the area around the women’s toilets and posted officers at each entrance to block access.

The park was reopened at 11.08am after no remains were found.

A police spokesman said: “Hoax calls can detract from core policing functions and are a waste of resources. Kingston police will make inquiries to trace any individual who seeks to cause disruption in this manner.

“Thankfully this incident did not impact on policing functions in any way and a full response capacity remained in police.”

Any information about the hoax should be sent to John Morgan of Kingston CID on 020 8247 5197.