Police talk six-year-old down from school roof

The boy reportedly refused to come down from the roof and police had to be called. Photo / iStock

Police were called to a Hastings primary school this morning to talk down a six-year-old student running rampant on the school's roof.

Napier police senior sergeant Dan Foley said police were called just before 2pm by Riverslea school and were told the boy had refused to come down from the roof despite attempts from staff.

Mr Foley understood the school in the suburb of Mayfair had tried to contact the boy's family before ringing police.

When a traffic unit arrived at the school, a community patrol unit was already there trying to get the boy down.

Police were only at the school for about 20 minutes. When asked if police ever dealt with incidents like this mornings, Mr Foley said "We deal with everything from the serious stuff to stuff that you'd almost go "what are we doing here?"

"But when people don't have another option the police are there to protect life and property, prevent crime and stop bad things from happening," he said. "That's our role in society, we're the people you can rely on to get there quickly."

Sometimes what police did was not "police work", Mr Foley said, but they ensured a safe outcome when it otherwise could be tragic.