A dream turned into a nightmare for a patron who called police to rescue him after waking up alone in an Otago pub.
The 42-year-old man contacted police at 5.30am on Saturday, saying he was locked in the Coach and Horses Inn, in Lawrence.
Senior Constable Robert Wallace, of Lawrence, was dispatched on "one of the more unusual calls" of his career, but first needed to locate a keyholder.
The door to the pub was opened at 7am, where the man was found asleep on a sofa of the public bar with a bottle of beer nearby.
Snr Const Wallace said the first thing the man did was offer to pay for the beer, which he took after he realised he was in for a long night.
The man told police he fell asleep in the bar, and did not want to leave the premises for fear of triggering the alarm system.
Staff were unsure how they missed the man when the premises was closed at 3am, Snr Const Wallace said.
The man was given a ride home and was not charged.
