Police come to rescue 'Ollie the Otter' - turns out he is actually a fur collar

Reports of an injured otter by the roadside caused police to rush to the scene - but all was not as it seemed

By Helena Horton 19 February 2016 • 2:57pm

'It's a fur cop, guv' Credit: Photo: Twitter/www.icgonline.co.uk/West Mercia Police

'Ollie the Otter' has become a local Internet personality in Shropshire after being 'rescued' by police.

Officers rushed to the scene after they got a phone call telling them about an injured otter by the roadside.

Police were left baffled when it turned out this 'otter' was merely a stray fur collar.

They saw the funny side of the situation and posted a picture of the fur collar on the ground to their Twitter account.

Police tweeted: "Report of an injured otter at the roadside turned out to be the fake fur collar from a coat."

Report of an injured otter at the roadside turned out to be the fake fur collar from a coat pic.twitter.com/fQxkAr4fJa
— Newport (Shrop) SNTs (@NewportCops) February 18, 2016

Internet users were quick to spot the similarity to a popular TV advert for an opticians where a vet makes a similar error - mistaking a colleagues fur hat for a poorly cat.

'Ollie the Otter' then had a little adventure, thanks to his kind rescuers.

They tweeted pictures of him in a police car:

Thank you to everyone for their concerns .. Ollie the Faux Otter is safely in our van recovering from his ordeal pic.twitter.com/HByvaj6J8w
— Newport (Shrop) SNTs (@NewportCops) February 18, 2016

And at the police headquarters:

#OllieTheOtter Update:
Currently feeling much better & reading everyone's kind messages on Twitter pic.twitter.com/mFLB7k7nKZ
— Newport (Shrop) SNTs (@NewportCops) February 18, 2016

People on Twitter decided to make jokes about it:

@NewportCops They should have gone to spec savers!
— Henshalls Insurance (@Henshalls) February 18, 2016

@NewportCops @ConstableChaos 'Should have gone to Specsavers' advert material.
— Patriotic Cynic (@oldblackfener) February 18, 2016

"It's a dead otter"

"Are you sure?"

"100% sarge" https://t.co/q9tryHYBAC
— Tom Swarbrick (@TomSwarbrick1) February 19, 2016

And it was a good excuse for police to inform the public what to do if they find an injured otter.

They said: "OllieTheFauxOtter would like to remind everyone, if you do find an injured otter, don't approach it but call police, RSCPA or local vet."

The RSPCA have advice on how to deal with injured animals.

They say on their website: "If you find an injured wild animal, watch it first to see how badly hurt it is. Then contact us on 0300 1234 999, or take it to a nearby vet or wildlife rehabilitator. If possible, contain the animal before calling."