Key Points
- Police were called to a cafe in an English seaside village after a passerby mistook a yoga class for a mass killing.
- Upon arrival, police found members of the class lying on the floor of the cafe quietly meditating.
- The cafe, which regularly hosts evening yoga classes, clarified it is "not part of any mad cult or crazy clubs”.
UK police descended on a yoga class in England's Midlands after a member of the public spotted people lying on the floor and reported a "mass killing".
Officers rushed to the spot with car sirens blaring only to find members of the class quietly meditating.
The Seaside Cafe inside the North Sea Observatory in Chapel St Leonards, a seaside resort village in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, said a worried member of the public raised the alarm on Wednesday night after becoming concerned.
"If anyone heard the mass of police sirens in Chapel St Leonards at 9.30pm last night then please be reassured," the cafe said in a Facebook post.
"They were on their way to the Observatory after someone had reported a mass killing in our building, having seen several people laying on the floor… which actually turned out to be the yoga class in meditation."
“Thank you to Lincolnshire Police for their prompt response,” it added. “I can’t imagine for one moment what would have being going through their minds on the way."
The cafe regularly hosts yoga classes in the evenings, and clarified that they "are not part of any mad cult or crazy clubs."
Unity Yoga, the group that runs the classes at the Seaside Cafe, commented on the post to “confirm everyone is safe and we all enjoyed a wonderful evening of meditation and yoga”.
“My heart goes out to the people who thought I was a murderer but I can assure you I just hold space for deep relaxation,” the comment said.
On its own Facebook page, Unity Yoga responded to the incident by offering those who called the police a free month of their services, “to make sure we get you out of that fight or flight state as quickly as possible”.
Lincolnshire police confirmed the call was made "with good intentions".
