KEY POINTS:
A whirring noise from a postbox caused police to seal off part of the small Taranaki township of Rahotu early today.
Police from Hawera, Opunake, Okato and Mania evacuated people from the immediate area and called in bomb disposal experts from Trentham military base.
About 3pm Radio New Zealand reported that nothing threatening had been found and the noise was believed to have come from a malfunctioning electric lock.
The drama in the small town, 46km southwest of New Plymouth on State Highway 45, started about 7am.
A New Plymouth police spokesman said police were alerted when windows were found to have been broken in the local Four Square store overnight, and an unexplained whirring sound was coming from a postbox outside.
People were evacuated and traffic was diverted while the bomb disposal experts were called in.
- NZPA
