A LIFE-size toy tiger caused chaos in Britain when panicked villagers called the cops after they spotted what they thought was a man-eating beast in a field.

Armed officers and a police helicopter were sent out to catch the white tiger in Hedge End, in the south of England, The Sun reports.

Specialist staff from nearby Marwell Zoo also attended to advise and potentially tranquilise the wild animal.

A nearby golf course was evacuated and plans were put in place to close the nearby M27 motorway if necessary in case the tiger moved in that direction.

But as police officers carefully approached the "wild animal" they realised it was not moving and the helicopter crew, using thermal imaging equipment, realised there was no heat source coming from it.

A spokeswoman for the force said: "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 tiger then rolled over in the down draft and it was at that point it became obvious it was a stuffed life-size toy.



"The CCTV footage convinced us all we were dealing with a real tiger."

Read more on the tiger hunt at The Sun.