St John Ambulance crews were warned to stay away from Tauranga Hospital this afternoon due to an incident with a toy gun.

The issue was later discovered to be a false alarm involving a toy gun.

A St John Ambulance spokesperson confirmed an alert had been received.

“[That alert] was shortly after confirmed as a false alarm,” the spokesperson said.

A police spokesperson told the Bay of Plenty Times the incident related to a toy gun being observed near the hospital.

Police were notified of an incident near the hospital at 1.45pm. Photo / George Novak

“It was brought to police attention about 1.45pm,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the incident was resolved very soon after.

Te Whatu Ora Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty has been contacted for more information.

More to come.