Man walks into stranger's house while hunting Pokémon

Pokémon Go: A man told police he had been playing the game when he reportedly stumbled into a stranger's house

8 October 2016

A man stumbled into a stranger’s house while pursuing Pokémon, it has emerged.

He later told police in Norwich he had been playing hit smartphone game Pokémon Go, which involves hunting digital creatures in real life locations.

It is one of dozens of instances of players trespassing since Pokémon Go — a smartphone version of the Nintendo game that first became a craze in the Nineties — was launched in July.

There were 19 Pokémon incidents recorded by Norfolk Police in July and August, with assaults, driving offences, noise nuisance and thefts also logged.

The data was released to the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act.

Reports included a motorist driving "erratically" while Pokémon hunting, and in another incident a man's phone was snatched out of his hand while the offender distracted him by talking about the app.

Gamers have been involved in robberies, driving offences and a mass brawl since the augmented reality game hit Britain's streets.

Some 290 incidents were recorded by forces across England and Wales since the smash hit game launched in the UK on July 13, the BBC reported in August.

Pokemon Go uses a smartphone's GPS to create an augmented reality game in which players collect creatures known as Pokémon as they walk around the real world.

Gamers can visit locations known as Pokéstops, which are usually local landmarks, where they can pick up free items to play the game.

Nintendo's stock skyrocketed following the success of the game, adding billions of pounds to the value of the company.

MORE ABOUT

Pokémon Go

Man walks into stranger's house while hunting Pokémon

Read More