Rotorua street blocked off after mystery discovery | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua

A Rotorua street was cordoned off last night after the discovery of a what appeared to be a clump of hair.

Huia St, off Devon St near Springfield Golf Course, was cordoned off about 5pm by police officers.

Staff at the Rotorua Police Station could not be contacted last night and a spokesman at the police Northern Communications centre would confirm only that "something suspicious" had been found on the road and police were investigating.

The spokesman could not say if what was found was human.

Rotorua police area commander Inspector Bruce Horne said last night he would have been contacted by his staff if it was a suspected homicide.

A resident who was out on the street, Tony Te Huia, said a car with three girls stopped near the clump and they got out to have a look.

"They freaked out and drove off," he said.

Another resident, Careena Corbett, said she believed what had been found was a horse's tail.

"I came home from work and thought it was a cat but not too sure," she said.

Later she thought it could be a horse's tail.

She said she heard a man say it had been on the road since about 1pm.

A youth who spoke to The Daily Post, Kaden Sherwood, said he had cycled by the clump of hair about 3.20pm after school, on his way to a friend's house, but had thought nothing of it.

"I looked at it, didn't know what it was and just kept on biking," he said.

When The Daily Post arrived at Huia St there were three police cars and about five officers. One officer retrieved the object, placing it in a council rubbish bag.

The cordon was taken down just after 6pm and police left the scene.

No further information was available last night.