Harry Potter wand: Six other times people were fooled by false alarms

The large knife turned out to be a wand brandished by a Harry Potter fan

Things are not always what they seem. And there is no better example of that old adage than a wand-wielding Harry Potter fan being mistaken for a knifeman.

Firearms officers were called to a hotel in Leicestershire on Sunday morning after a report of a man carrying a large knife near the lifts.

But there was no need for alarm as police found it was just an enthusiastic Harry Potter fan with a wand.

Here, we revisit six more occasions when we gasped a collective "whoops!".

'Blackpool Tower is on fire'

Six fire engines, drone team and rope rescue team were sent out to the "fire"

"Breaking: A fire has broken out at Blackpool Tower", read a Sky News tweet, while BBC News reported "six fire engines tackling the blaze at the top of the famous landmark".

In December, firefighters were called to reports of a blaze at Blackpool Tower. A video on social media appeared to show flames at the top of the tower.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service sent six fire engines and a rope rescue team to the Promenade at Blackpool, sparking a flurry of news alerts.

Except there was no fire.

A police helicopter sent up to fly over the tower established it was just orange netting.

Responding to a BBC clarification, Specsavers tweeted "We're open at nine."

Human foot or potato?

Officers acknowledged the vegetable medley did look like part of a human foot

It was like the opening of a BBC crime drama - a dog walker in Gateshead found what appeared to be a human toe sticking out of a muddy field.

The discovery in January 2021 led to a search by officers and specialists dogs, only for it to be confirmed the suspected foot was actually a potato with a mushroom growing next to it.

Insp Phil Hamlani said at the time: "The search team did have a chuckle when they realised it was a potato, but the call was made in good faith and we can only praise the vigilance of the woman who made the call."

'Ritual mass murder'

The yoga room was dark and lit with candles

One September night last year, two dog walkers peered through a window into a dark cafe to see bodies lying on the ground covered with blankets surrounded by candles and a mysterious person in a robe walking between them.

Convinced they had stumbled on a "ritual mass murder", the pair called the police.

Officers rushed to the cafe in St Leonards, Lincolnshire, only to find a yoga class in session.

Instructor Millie Laws later said: "I guess from the outside view it could look like that [a mass murder], because they're all really still, very nice and relaxed.

"I'm sure their imagination was running wild with what was going on."

'Tiger on the loose'

"Did I just see a tiger?" That's the question residents were asking themselves after spotting a big cat in a garden.

But when Greater Manchester Police arrived at the home in Oldham last year, there was no need for alarm. The escaped tiger turned out to be a soft toy, which police later nicknamed Tony.

Zoo vets had their tranquiliser darts at the ready... for a big stuffed toy

In 2011, a similar tiger sighting caused a frenzy with police sending out a helicopter to a field near the M27 in Hampshire.

Such was the concern over the escaped white tiger, play stopped at a cricket ground and animal specialists at nearby Marwell Zoo were prepared to send in a team with tranquiliser darts.

But when the helicopter arrived and blew over the tiger, it became quickly clear it was just a stuffed toy.

Dead pirate?

The "bone-chilling" discovery was reported to police

Earlier last year, a concerned member of the public called the police after finding what they thought was a pile of human bones in a bush in their Derbyshire garden.

On closer inspection by police officers though, it turned out to be a toy skeleton model of Captain Hook, complete with a hook for a hand and the remains of his trusty parrot.

Police said at the time, the call was made in good faith and officers left the toy to be disposed of by the homeowner.

'Dummy bomb at Old Trafford'

Bomb disposal experts arriving at 75,000-capacity Old Trafford

Everyone can make mistakes, but some are more costly than others.

A match at Manchester United's Old Trafford was abandoned and thousands of supporters evacuated after the discovery of a "incredibly lifelike explosive device" in a toilet block in 2016.

In a super-sized blunder, a security firm conducting a training session had left a dummy bomb in the stadium.

At the time Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd described the mistake as a "fiasco".