Police were called to a village after reports of somebody armed with a gun.

The person was seen around 7.30pm in Cooling Street, Cliffe on Saturday pointing an air rifle towards a field.

A police spokesman said no suspects have been identified after officers received information about 9.25 pm.

There were social media reports of shots being fired “indiscriminately” from the passenger side of a small white van towards properties near Berry Court Farm.

The poster wrote: “We don't even know what they're shooting at and we don't think they care. They shot into the lawn or garden of Berry Court kennels. They then drove further along and took shots outside of Berry Court Farm and stables, at the time it was 7:00 or 7:30.

“They were heading towards Cooling, they then turned round and came back along Cooling Street.

“They could have shot anything or anyone. They were just randomly shooting into people's gardens , not particularly knowing what they were shooting at.

“We can't think what they would have been shooting at other than maybe people's cats or dogs or other animals.”

Margaret Mew, who runs Berrycourt Kennels and Cattery, was out walking along country lanes near her home in Cooling Street on Saturday evening.

She said : "I remember noticing a white van in the distance stopped outside a house, I didn't think anything of it until I saw the post.

"I immediately checked our doorbell camera and looked outside to see if my animals were OK.

"I was quite shocked when I saw the post. I have lived here since 1977 and I've never heard of anything like this before."