IN a bizarre incident in Tyabb up to 18 police were involved in arresting a man who allegedly drilled holes in a gas main underneath a neighbour’s house, filling the house with gas.
Police, the Dog Squad, ambulance and Tyabb CFA crews, were called to Central Avenue by the neighbour, Tuesday 31 July.
When they arrived they found the man hiding in a manhole underneath his own house and refusing to come out. Negotiations with him continued for several hours.
Police were unwilling to send down the dog to flush him out because of fears the man may have been bitten, making it harder to extract him from the confined space below. Eventually two police went down to “shimmy” him out.
The man, in his mid-40s, was taken by ambulance to Frankston Hospital where he was still being assessed for psychotic issues, yesterday (Monday 6 August).
Sergeant John Coburn, of Somerville CIU, said motives behind the incident were “unclear” and it was not known if there was a dispute between the parties.
First published in the Western Port News – 7 August 2018
