Back to the Future: Queensland police deploy 'hoverboard unit'

As one of the first countries in the world to mark Back to the Future Day, Australia saw a spoof police press release and some cheeky photo-editing

Police in Queensland say they have deployed their "hoverboard unit" after a silver car crashed near a cinema.

The car, going at 88mph, hit a pole causing a power cut and stopping the town clock, the spoof statement said.

The satire was among the first of what could end up being many tributes paid on Back to the Future Day.

Movie fans are celebrating 21 October 2015, the date Marty and Doc visited in the 1989 sci-fi time travel adventure sequel Back to the Future II.

The silver car described in the police press release sounded suspiciously similar to the flying DeLorean from Back to the Future II, which needs to hit 88mph to travel through time

The crash described in the police press release mirrors the key moment in the Back to the Future II plot, when Marty McFly, 17, and Doc go forward in time.

It said officers asked the 17-year-old driver what speed he had been doing, to which he replied, 88mph (142km/h) - the speed the pair's modified silver DeLorean had to hit to trigger the flux capacitor to send them back in time.

Marty McFly, portrayed by Michael J Fox, immortalised the concept of the hoverboard in Back to the Future II

"A 17-year-old man was charged and was in possession of a licence which expired over 30 years ago," police said.

"Investigations into the vehicle and what a flux capacitor is, are ongoing."

It also posted an edited image of officers rushing to the scene on their hoverboards.

Back to the Future II predicted the 19th Jaws instalment would be released in 2015

Mount Isa Cinema owner Jodi Saunders was quoted as saying the driver had asked when Jaws 19 - the film being screened at the Holomax cinema in the film - was showing.

Marty McFly looks into what appears to be a tablet in his bid to restore Hill Valley's clock tower in 2015

Mount Isa Mayor Tony McGrady, meanwhile, was quoted as saying repairs were under way to save the clock tower, which in the famous scene is hit by lightning.

Queensland Police Media is famed for its light-hearted social media posts.

It has previously posted warnings on Facebook about wet roads from the tears of Top Gear fans after the show was cancelled, and has cautioned drivers not to "go ape" after a lorry carrying bananas crashed.

"Great Scott!!" - more Back to the Future-related news

• Also in Australia, New South Wales Premier Mike Baird took to the streets (but not the skies) in a DeLorean. "Great Scott!! Turns out we still need roads...," he wrote on his Facebook page

• Universal Pictures have released a trailer for a fictional "Jaws 19" - in Back to the Future Part II, Marty is outside a cinema when a 3D shark erupts out of an advertisement for the 19th instalment of the series

• Unsurprisingly, carmakers have done their best to capitalise on the day. In August, Lexus unveiled a real life hoverboard, while Toyota created a Back to the Future-based advertising campaign for its forthcoming hydrogen-powered model the Mirai (which means future in Japanese). Meanwhile Ford has put together a spoof product video for a "flux capacitator" upgrade for its Focus and Fiesta models.

• The White House is asking innovators and American citizens what they think life in the year 2045 will look like

• In the British parliament, Prime Minister David Cameron told Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to "get in his DeLorean and fly back to 1985" in a swipe at Mr Corbyn's opposition to the UK's nuclear weapons programme

• Also in the UK, organisers of the Rugby World Cup have asked fans what they think a futuristic version of the sport would look like using the hashtag #MartyMcFlyHalf

• And finally, a Back to the Future-themed pornographic film is in production, according to the io9 website, from a team that is already responsible for spoofs of The Hunger Games, Doctor Who and Game of Thrones