MANY INJURED IN RUSH TO GET IN BEHIND POLICE

MANY INJURED IN RUSH TO GET BEHIND POLICE

Several people suffered injuries today when Moenui residents responded to a call to get behind the police in their campaign to reduce domestic violence. In what Constable Fred Tawhai described as an “unseemly scramble to be the first in the queue,” 15 people were injured, one of them seriously.

Constable Tawhai said he was initially heartened by the public response but "things soon turned to custard as several people were knocked to the ground and trampled underfoot."

Local commentator Frank Lush who observed the incident from the Garden Bar of the Masonic Hotel said he hadn't seen a stampede like it since local lottery winner Jimmy Wallace announced he was paying for the drinks.

Moenui Hospital treated and released all but two of the victims. One of these had suffered serious head injuries while another simply refused to leave saying "I'm not going home to that bastard."

MINISTER STUNNED

Moenui Minister John Paul is recovering well in hospital after being injured during his Sunday sermon. Worshippers report that after reading the text "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone," Father Paul was struck by a brick.