A JOKE backfired when police were called to a village post office after reports an armed robbery was taking place.

A customer at Bethersden post office raised the alarm after seeing a man approach the shop counter waving a gun.

Police arrived to find the man had gone and that he was a regular customer known to the owners and had been pulling a practical joke with a plastic gun.

Shopkeeper Rebecca Huetson was on the till at the time.

She said: "I recognised the guy as a builder who comes in.

"Whether it was a plastic gun or BB gun I don’t know but he held it up and said 'this is a hold-up'. I wasn’t alarmed because I could see it wasn’t real.

"If it had been a real incident we would have been very grateful to whoever called the police."

Police are still keen to get in touch with the man.

Police spokesman Rosy Alexander said: "This has not been treated as a firearms incident. However, officers are trying to locate the man as they wish to give him advice regarding the incident."