A large-scale police response was sparked after a dog walker thought she spotted a human toe sticking out of the ground – only for it to be a potato.
Police were called after a woman discovered a suspected toe buried in muddy field in Winlaton, Gateshead, on Tuesday afternoon.
She took a picture of the 'toe' and returned home before sending it to police.
Detectives agreed that it did appear to be a human foot and they deployed specialist police dogs and search teams to scour the area.
After hours of searching, officers discovered it wasn't a body part after all.
The 'toe' was in fact a potato with a mushroom growing next to it.
Neighbourhood Inspector Phil Hamlani, of Northumbria Police, said the call was made in good faith and encouraged others to report suspicious activity.
He said: "The person who called this in was very concerned and in the picture she sent to us the object did look like it could be human remains.
"It was already dark by the time we got a call and so we had to deploy search teams to track down the scene to rule out any foul play.
"The search team did have a chuckle when they realised it was a potato but the call was made in good faith and we can only praise the vigilance of the woman who made the call.
"If anyone does come across suspected human remains please do the same and give us a call. If it does turn out to be a vegetable, our police dogs will thank you for the treat."
If you want to report something suspicious then call 101 or report it online at the ‘Tell Us Something’ pages of the Northumbria Police website.
