Police officers were called after reports of shots being fired in a village and discovered intruders had set off a blank firing alarm system.

The system was set off to deter would-be thieves, but the shooting noise of the blank cartridges being fired led to a large number of people calling 999.

The incident took place in Boxgrove, near Chichester, on Tuesday evening.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: “Police officers deployed to a report of shots discovered that intruders had set off a blank firing alarm system.

“Police were called to a report of intruders attempting to break into a property in St Blaises Road at 11.26pm.

“The occupant had experienced previous problems with people trying to steal wood from the location and had set up the alarm to alert and deter.

“The intruders are believed to have made off across a nearby recreation ground, causing criminal damage to a vehicle as they did so.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has any information is asked to call police on 0845 6070999.