"Typical tiger country has three main features," reads an entry on Tigerpedia.com, online authority on all things tiger-related. "It will always have good cover, it will always be close to water and plenty of prey." So perhaps it should have come as no surprise to Hampshire police when they were alerted to the presence of a white tiger in a field in Hedge End, near Southampton on the south coast.

The force quickly liaised with a local zoo to arrange a tranquilliser dart, before scrambling a helicopter and team of police officers to pursue the beast - only to later discover that the tiger was a life-sized soft toy.

Police were contacted at 4pm on Saturday afternoon by "several" members of the public, each reporting the presence of a white tiger in a field in Hedge End. One of the callers had examined the predator through the zoom lens of his camera, and was convinced the animal was real, and threatening.

A police officer, who has not been named, was duly dispatched to the field to investigate, and was able to "confirm" that there was indeed a tiger lurking in the grass.

Several more officers were sent to the field, and air support called in, but not before nearby Marwell zoo was contacted by police.

"They gave us the option to dart and tranquillise the animal rather than destroy it," said a police spokeswoman.

She added that officers cleared a nearby golf course and were prepared to close the M27 motorway should the tiger make a run for it - but in the end that proved unnecessary. "After a brief stalk through the Hedge End savannah, the officer realised the tiger was not moving and the air support using their cameras realised there was a lack of heat source," the spokeswoman said.

"The tiger then rolled over in the down draught and it was at that point it became obvious it was a stuffed life-size toy." It is understood that the tranquilliser dart was not used.

On Sunday police released a photograph of the tiger. A spokeswoman said officers had been unable to confirm the owner of the toy, or determine how it had come to be in a field in Hedge End. "The life-sized stuffed animal, of the kind that can be won at funfairs, is being treated as lost property," she said in a statement.

"Police are keen to reiterate that they have a duty to protect the public and therefore take calls of this nature as seriously as any other calls reporting potential dangers to members of the public. There is no further information on this incident available as police continue to focus on more urgent matters."