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Dad's Halloween Pranks Ends Up With Police Turning Up Investigating 'Kidnapping'

Dad's Halloween Pranks Ends Up With Police Turning Up Investigating 'Kidnapping'

The police turned up at Darren Houlker's house to investigate a kidnapping, but it turned out to be a silly Halloween prank

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

The police turned up at a house after receiving reports of a 'kidnapped' man, but it turned out to be a Halloween prank gone wrong, and it was actually a plastic arm and a leg.

Darren Houlker forgot that he'd left the seasonal decorations hanging from the back of his van before he drove over to see his dad in Urmston, Greater Manchester, on Wednesday.

The 49-year-old got a fright of his own when he saw a police officer at his house through his Ring doorbell camera.

After he'd rushed back to the gaff, he realised that the copper had shown up to investigate a potential kidnapping.

Kennedy News & Media

Seeing the funny side, he asked the officer to inspect the back of his van, at which point it was discovered that it was actually the Halloween decorations.

Luckily, the police officer saw the funny side, and radioed into his colleagues telling them to 'all stand down' and even said it was 'one of the best jobs he's been called out to'.

Darren reckons that a 'stupid' motorist who 'should go to Specsavers' probably reported it after seeing the false limbs buffeting around in the wake of the van.

He shared the incident on Facebook, much to the delight of those who saw it.

Darren said: "It's all pretty idiotic. The person who called it in probably should go to Specsavers.

"It's a little prank that I do. Usually I put it in my car but this year I thought I'd put it in my van because I'm not using the van this week. I nipped out to drop some bits off at my dad's house and I forgot about it.

"On the way back I stopped at my brother's house and I could hear sirens, so I thought 'what's going on', then my Ring app pinged and I saw the police outside my door."

Kennedy News & Media

"I was worried because I didn't know if my partner had called them, so I flew back home. I asked him what the matter was and he said 'we've had a report about kidnapping'. I just said 'mate, go and look at the back of the van'.

"He shut his eyes, looked to the skies and said 'everybody stand down, it's a prosthetic arm and leg'. They must have had a full police search for me.

"He couldn't stop laughing. 'He said that's one of the best jobs I've ever been called out'. It probably made his day. It was comical. I'd only put it there that morning, so it was only there for a few hours

"The officer said the caller told them it was like someone had been bundled into the van, but you'd be driving erratically if that happened. I was just driving normally."

Kennedy News & Media

"Because it was windy as I was driving down the road, I think the arm and leg were moving. That probably added to it. Somebody behind must have thought someone was asking for help.

"The prank's gone perfectly, but I didn't expect it to go that far. Maybe it went too far, but it's all good fun. This hasn't put me off at all. I'll leave it on the drive."

He reckons that the police caller must be a motorist, because all of his neighbours 'know what he's like'.

Greater Manchester Police have been contacted for a comment.

Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News & Media

Topics: Police, UK News, Funny, halloween, Weird