Halloween keeps German police busy 02/11/2007 00:00

2 November 2007

Berlin (dpa) - Halloween generated additional work for Germany's security and emergency services, police said Thursday as they counted the cost of the festivities.

In Hamburg, a pub landlady initially believed she was the target of a "trick or treat" when two masked youths burst into her premises demanding money.

After they produced a knife and uttered threats to her safety, however, she handed over the evening's takings of 125 euros (180 dollars).

Police in the town of Lippstadt in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia thought they had a chain-saw massacre on their hands when called out by a member of the public.

Side-arms drawn and at the ready, they cautiously approached two youths threatening passers-by, only to find that the blades had been removed, rendering the saws harmless.

Police detained dozens of drunken teenagers across the country, including two girls, aged 13 and 15, who had downed an entire bottle of vodka between them.

Until the mid-1990s, Halloween was all but unknown in Germany. Clever marketing by the traditional carnival sector has since turned the October 31 witches' festival into a major money-spinner.

DPA

Subject: German news