No, Hastings police officers have not started using mobility scooters as patrol vehicles. But for a short period it looked like they could've been.

When an elderly man got lost in town this week, Constable Mark Bancroft drove the man's mobility scooter, while another officer gave the man a ride in the patrol vehicle. At this point the scooter became a quasi canine unit, given the elderly gentleman's dog was hitching a ride under the officer's feet.

New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush tweeted a photo of Bancroft's "innovative approach".

#Proud of @NZPolice Officers going the extra mile - after returning a lost elderly gentleman home, this Constable took an innovative approach to returning his mobility scooter and the dog too! #SafestCountry pic.twitter.com/77CoP78Qfi — Mike Bush (@NZPCommissioner) December 5, 2017

Acting Sergeant Mars Marsden said Bancroft did a great job.

READ MORE:

* Police release 'world's most entertaining recruitment video'

* New Zealand police drop boss dance moves in new video - and challenge the Aussies

* Police make video to drive home message on domestic violence

"One officer took the gentleman home in the patrol car, as it was such a hot day, and the other officer rode the scooter home with the dog," he said.

"We like to ensure that people in our communities are taken care of, and I am proud of our staff for going the extra mile."

This is not the first time the police have gone the extra mile for people in their community. Two Cambridge police officers helped a grieving widow in October by comforting her and then mowing the lawns.

Palmerston North policeman Senior Sergeant Nathan Davis filmed a carpool karaoke video in April, in which he belted out road safety messages to the tune of September, by Earth, Wind and Fire.

Bancroft has only been with the Hawke's Bay police a month, but he is evidently getting some of those "better work stories" the police love to boast about.