Three men were reported to the police by frightened witnesses after being seen carrying machetes and an axe in Gravesend.

Police were called just before 11.45am to reports of men with weapons in King Street - but say the group turned out to be property developers who had just bought the tools for work.

"Officers attended and it was established the men had purchased these items for work purposes from a nearby shop," said a police statement.

"No offences were found to have been committed and no arrests were made."

A witness, who did not wish to be named, said: "This was a very scary incident and these men should not have been standing on a busy high street with these big knives in this current terrorism climate."