Suspicious homemade object found at West Auckland playground

A West Auckland resident made an alarming discovery at a children's playground after taking his dog for a walk last Saturday.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, was walking through Glendene Reserve around 8am on Saturday when he stumbled across a large suspicious object near the children's playground.

Taking a closer look, the man soon found a long knife that had been attached and taped to a long pole.

The dangerous object was found just metres away from a box of dumped alcohol and in the vicinity of a children's play area.

While the knife had some kind of stains on the blade, the resident said the "weapon" was probably used for cutting high objects rather than any criminal activity.

"It's not what you expect to see at the park first thing in the morning.

"I was taking the dog for a walk and I happened to look over and see this homemade object with a knife on the end of it. It was pretty unreal to see lying around a park.

"There were a bunch of empty alcohol cans and rubbish so we picked those up to tidy up the park.

"I took the stick home to dispose of rather than leave it at the park where children play.

"Would be stupid to leave it there in case someone finds it and wants to pull it out of the bin.

"I don't know what they were trying to do but I just think why would someone leave something like that there at the park for people to find, especially a park where kids play and people walk their dogs."

Locals have since thanked the man for disposing of the weapon but are disappointed such an item would be left at a park where children frequently play.

"That's the park where I take my daughter to play. There are some mongrels around," one person said.

Another wrote: "So sad our people would leave that there. It was the park I took my children to for years. Who knows what it was used for. A poor kid could have harmed themselves or an animal off their leash. We need to be better than this."

Others were more fired up, saying the object was "made with intent to use".

"Careless use of a weapon leaving it where innocent kids can get a hold of it! Bloody idiot! It was obviously made with intent to use it."

Police confirmed to the Herald the incident hasn't been reported but asks for members of the public to contact them if they find any suspicious weapons or objects.

"Anyone who finds a suspicious item is urged to contact Police immediately."