SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian teenager who held a wild house party while his parents were away was Monday facing a 20,000-dollar (17,850 US) bill after police called in a helicopter to disperse the revellers.
The 16-year-old boy hosted a party on Saturday night which spiralled out of control when hundreds of people turned up to his house in the Melbourne suburb of Narre Warren.
When some of the 500 party-goers began throwing bottles at police cars and vandalising the street, the dog squad and a police helicopter were deployed.
Victoria Police chief commissioner Christine Nixon said police were now considering asking the boy to foot the bill for the operation, which involved 30 officers.
"We're looking at it, we just want to understand exactly what happened, I don't want to act too soon but I'm very unhappy about it, watching police officers treated in that fashion," Nixon told reporters.
"But there may well be very substantial costs involved for the police response to that particular incident.
"To call a helicopter is a 2,000-dollar expense to start with."
