Armed police officers were scrambled to the scene of a ‘firearm’ incident yesterday - only to discover a group of builders shooting pigeons.

A concerned resident called 999 after hearing shots in Morden around the Aragon and Kingsbridge Road area yesterday (Wednesday, June 5) at about 12pm.

One armed response unit from Merton raced to the scene but soon discovered the cause of alarm was a group of builders who were apparently shooting pigeons with air rifles on private land.

It is legal to shoot crows, rooks, jackdaws, magpies, jays, woodpigeon, collared doves, feral pigeons, brown rats, grey squirrels, stoats, mink and rabbits with an air rifle on land where you have the owner’s permission.

A spokesperson for Merton police said: "In this case the builders were on private land with an old air rifle and were shooting within the boundaries of the property, so no action was taken although they received some words of advice regarding the common sense of shooting in view of the public and how it may cause concern for some."