Sick joke caused police search

THE police in Birmingham responded to the report of a body in a canal, but discovered it was a sick joke.

People were reporting seeing a body floating in the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal near Livery Street Bridge, and so the police rushed to the area to search for the body, Alan Tilbury reports.

Resemble a body

Arriving at the canal they discovered that someone had wrapped material and straw inside layers of plastic and clothing to resemble a body, then obviously lowered into the canal left it floating, as a sick joke, knowing the emergency services would be alerted.

The police reported it was 'strange' opening up the plastic not knowing what they would find inside.