Fake murder scene at police chief's retirement party sparked panic

A police chief’s retirement party sparked panic in a sleepy rural town when alarmed residents confused it for a real murder scene. The party was held at the Punchbowl pub in Spalding, Lincolnshire, to celebrate the retirement of the town’s chief of police Stuart Brotherton. Landlord Pete Williams, 59, decked out the front of the pub with CSI-style police tape and chalk body outlines drawn on the pavement outside. Pete even erected mock floral tributes for the non-existent murder victims and spread ketchup on the floor to recreate splatters of blood.

But the pub boss says he was shocked when he was suddenly inundated with phone calls from concerned members of the public convinced a major crime had taken place. Pete received over 20 calls from worried locals believed a murder had occurred in their quaint market town. Pete, who has ran the pub for the past 15 years, said: “I must have had 20 or so phone calls from people throughout the evening and they genuinely thought something had happened. I had loads of people calling just asking what was going on, and if it was anyone they knew.



“People are not used to serious crimes around these parts. The amusing thing is that if any of them had tried to call 999 to find out what was going on they wouldn’t have got anyone because all the police were here.” Pete said staff spent over £200 buying genuine police uniform to wear and decking the pub out with a crime-scene theme. He added:”Stuart asked us just to do a hog roast and a leaving do and we just thought we could make a nice part for him and go that extra mile.

“We put up the tape around the whole place and then members of staff lay down so we could draw outlines. We got some tomato sauce and squirted it around the chalk to make it look more real. The guy who runs the fish and chip shop next door went and got some flowers to put down. I suppose it showed that the hard work that we had put in for Stuart was worth it, and I think he really appreciated it. It was all worth it for a great send off for Stuart, who has been a really great local policeman for the last 30 years.”