Officers in the New Forest have arrested four men for impersonating police officers.
The arrests were made during an investigation into an assault in Burley, and come after a member of the public reported that they were approached by four men purporting to be police officers in Picket Plain car park at around 10pm on Sunday, August 13.
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Officers were deployed and stopped a vehicle on the A3025 matching their description, resulting in four men and the vehicle being detained for a search. Upon inspection, two imitation firearms were located in the vehicle and seized.
A 17-year-old youth from Netley Abbey, a 36-year-old man from Bishopstoke, a 36-year-old man from Hedge End and a 35-year-old man from Southampton were arrested on suspicion of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and impersonating a police officer.
They remain in custody at the time of writing while police enquiries continue.
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