Police have described as stupid the actions of a Dunedin man after he was allegedly caught huffing from a stolen lpg bottle.
The incident comes two months after two teenagers were seriously injured in a gas bottle explosion in Mosgiel.
Acting Sergeant Murray Hewitson, of Balclutha, said a 9kg lpg bottle was reported stolen in Milton on Sunday, cut loose from a caravan parked in an Elderlee St driveway.
Acting Sgt Hewitson said a police officer, while searching the area, found a 20-year-old Dunedin man "huffing" - inhaling gas - from the stolen gas bottle.
"It was a pretty stupid thing to do considering what happened to those boys in Dunedin."
The man was charged with theft.
In July, two Mosgiel teenagers suffered critical injuries following the explosion of 9kg lpg bottles, from which police said they were believed to be huffing.
Chief coroner Judge Neil MacLean has launched a review into butane huffing after the incident.
He told the Otago Daily Times he was surprised to discover there had been 30 huffing-related deaths in 11 years, and this prompted a review of coronial findings.
Last month, a 17-year-old girl died in a Christchurch park after huffing butane gas from cans with her friends.
