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Armed police swooped on Britain's 'prettiest street' amid fears a gunman was on the loose after a suspected shooting at a property in the centre of a planning row.
Gloucestershire Constabulary officers headed to the picturesque Cotswolds village of Bibury on Monday morning after the window of an excavator was shattered.
Contractors at the development on Awkward Hill claimed they had been shot at with a rifle when they started work just after 8.15am which left them shaken up.
Armed officers were sent along with sniffer dogs and drone units, but police claimed no one has confirmed any shots were heard and no projectile has been found.
Detectives are currently treating the incident as criminal damage but are carrying out forensic examinations and combing through CCTV to establish what happened.
Villagers claim the project has been making their lives a nightmare after years of construction works which have caused noise, verge erosion and blocked roads.
Craig Chapman, chairman of Bibury Parish Council, told the Daily Mail: 'I was in the area when suddenly police came hurtling around the corner. I thought: 'Oh my God'.
'Officers had balaclavas on and machine guns. It was very dramatic. They clearly sent in the experts. I approached them and told them I was from the parish council.
A cement lorry blocking the road during construction on Awkward Hill in Bibury last year
Digegers and construction materials on the building site at Awkward Hill in Bibury last year
'They told me there had been a report of a gunshot. There had been a local shoot that day. You can hear the shooting but there's no way it is close enough to land any shots near us. The police found no rounds of ammunition.
'Personally, I think it's related to building work and something might have hit the window or something. Police treated it as a precaution.'
One source close to the development told GloucestershireLive today that contractors have faced a large amount of verbal abuse since work began at the site.
Read More Revealed: Owners of home accused of RUINING Britain's 'prettiest street' are a rich Turkish family
Other residents claimed to the Mail that there had been heated verbal exchanges between residents and the builders in recent days, but said there was no evidence anyone had shot at them.
People living on Awkward Hill in the famous group of houses called Arlington Row - a much-photographed line of medieval buildings which were converted into weavers' cottages in the 17th century - were told to stay indoors by police, according to locals.
One couple trying to leave were allegedly told: 'No, you can't go yet, you've got to go back inside because we are worried about a gunman being on the loose.'
Another 'appalled' resident said: 'It's one thing to put in a planning objection but it's another thing altogether to do something as dangerous and as nasty as this.'
A third said: 'I saw police cars going up Hawkers Hill. Armed police came out and there were five or six vehicles. They said someone had reported an armed person.'
A Gloucestershire Constabulary spokeswoman told the Mail: 'Police are investigating a report of criminal damage in Bibury on Monday morning.
A large cement mixer in the narrow lane during construction works in Bibury last year
A file photograph of the Arlington Row houses on Awkward Hill in Bibury, Gloucestershire
'Officers received reports that a window on an excavator shattered in the presence of workmen. This happened in the grounds of a private property at around 8.30am.
'Initial investigations have found damage to the window frame of the excavator and whilst the workmen were shaken by what had happened, no one was injured.
'Officers conducted a search of the area. At present, no suspect has been identified. CCTV and house-to-house enquires, as well as a forensic examinations, are ongoing to identify what was used to cause the damage.
'Due to the initial report received by police, an armed response was deployed, with support from the dogs and drone units. Investigations are continuing and, at present, nobody has confirmed that any shots were heard and no projectile has been found.
'Enquiries into the incident are ongoing and investigating officers are now asking anyone with information, who hasn't already spoken to police, to make contact.'
The Daily Mail revealed earlier this month that the homeowners at the centre of the planning row are a wealthy couple from Turkey called Metin and Gulbin Dener.
The renovations at their Grade-II listed property have left neighbours wanting to sell their chocolate-box cottages where average house prices sit at £1.5million.
The couple bought the cottage for £1.1million in 2022 and works have been ongoing since 2023, but locals have said this is making their lives an 'absolute nightmare'.
Did you witness the 'shooting' incident? Please email: tips@dailymail.co.uk
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