Shoppers were worried when they stumbled across a squad of police officers in a car park.

It looked as if the cops were on a major operation as the gathered outside the Mole Country Stores shop in Broad Oak Road, Sturry, near Canterbury this morning (Saturday).

But it turned out there was nothing to fear - unless they were motorists doing something wrong.

A spokeswoman for Kent Police explained: "Officers from the Special Constabulary were stationed at Broad Oak Road, Canterbury, as part of a proactive road safety operation."

Many visitors driving past had expressed concerns on social media as it looked like the store, which sells farm equipment, horse riding gear and DIY products, might be at the centre of a crime investigation and had been placed out of bounds.

A member of the shop's staff refused to comment to put people's minds at rest and insisted all calls had to go to the police. After a bit of digging, we discovered the truth...