A full-scale terror alert was sparked this week after a dummy wearing a balaclava was spotted on a boat sailing down the Thames with a fake missile launcher on its roof . Thames Valley Police called an Army bomb disposal team after a startled passer-by reported the 4ft long guided missile in a rocket launcher on top of the barge in Reading . Perched next to the fake warhead were the head and shoulders of a convincing-looking man , his eyes staring grimly from holes cut in a balaclava shrouding his face . Panic : A terror alert was sparked on the Thames this week after someone reported seeing a missile on top of a barge in Reading . A spokesman said 'Thames Valley Police received a report from a member of the public about a suspected weapon on a canal boat in Caversham last night . 'Officers attended and conducted a search of the area , and the boat was located . The reported weapon was found to be purely ornamental . 'Explosive Ordnance Disposal ( EOD ) were also informed and are satisfied it was not a live device . ' The canal boat was moored near a children 's play area in Christchurch Meadows , where the River Thames flows through Reading . After approaching the boat , police and the bomb disposal unit inspected the missile and confirmed the deadly-looking weapon was a dummy . Menacing : Alongside the 4ft missile were the head and shoulders of a dummy wearing a balaclava . Bizarre sight : A local resident , who asked not to be named , condemned the prank , saying : 'What a stupid thing to put on top of a boat in a town centre ' A local resident , who asked not to be named , said 'What a stupid thing to put on top of a boat in a town centre . 'Goodness knows what possessed the boat owner - did n't they realise the panic it would spread ? 'We 're hoping the police take the time to have a word with them and ask them to remove it . 'It 's not funny at all in this day and age , with all the horrible things involving terrorists . ' Reading is just a few miles from Windsor where the Queen was in residence in the Castle this week - presenting the VC to Afghan war hero Joshua Leakey . Prank : Police and an Army bomb disposal team responded to the call and later said the missile 'was found to be purely ornamental ' Realistic fake : The 4ft-long model weapon was mounted on the roof on the barge as it sailed down the Thames in Berkshire .
4ft missile was spotted on the roof of barge as it sailed through Caversham . Alarmed passer-by called police and Army bomb disposal team responded . Perched next to missile was the menacing head and shoulders of a dummy . Experts scoured boat and said weapon 'was found to be purely ornamental '