Sinister graffiti that appears to show a figure holding a gun over the prone body of a naked female has reappeared in a Kent village.

The spine-chilling image was first seen painted on walls in Halling, near Rochester, in October 2006.

Four versions of the picture were found along a footpath that had been the scene of a sexual assault just weeks earlier. Some villagers linked the images to the attack, although no connection was made by police.

Now, 19 months later, a very similar image discovered nearby at the weekend and villagers are worried they are the product of a disturbed mind.

One villager said of the latest design on a wall off the High Street: "It is a concern. Let’s hope that it’s just graffiti this time and won’t be accompanied by any attacks, although the graffiti itself is bad enough."

Villager Laura Kennard, 20, was one of the first people to find the original graffiti and has also seen the new design.

She said: "The pictures are disturbing and the fact you find them in the strangest places only heightens the scariness. I want to know who the artist is and why he is painting these pictures in Halling."