A spate of mysterious late night door-knocking has spooked villagers in Poringland.

Several incidents have been reported in the village and they all happened between 10pm to 2am, with the first occurring around two months ago. The culprits have not been identified but some residents believe it might be linked to other crime.

One resident, who does not wish to be named, said: "My neighbour saw someone knock on my door at around midnight while I was away. They didn't get a clear view of them, but thought they might be two young men.

"As it was so late, they kept an eye on them and saw that they began to tamper with my car - a new 4X4 - so went outside to scare them off."

She added: "It's made me want to move out of the area to be honest. I don't feel safe here anymore and I've heard about other incidents."

Angela Turner, who lives on Framingham Crescent, had a similar experience which also made her feel "frightened."

The 49-year-old said: "I've lived here three years and it's never happened before until now. I was watching television at 1.30am and heard a knocking at the door. I found it intimidating because I'm not well at the moment, which is why I was watching television so late as I struggle to sleep."

"I used to live in London so I knew not to open the door, but there are elderly people around here who may not do the same thing."

Angelo Sbrilli, 49, who works nights shift, said that he found the anti-social knocking "disrespectful."

He added: "When I heard knocking late at night, I was more shocked than anything."

One Facebook user said: "I'm normally in bed when it happens and they're gone by the time I get up but it's very annoying and keeps waking my little boy up."

Another Facebook user said: "There was a young man and a woman in red t-shirts knocking on doors on the street gone 9pm.

"Not particularly appropriate if people have small children."

We have contacted the police but they did not respond to our request for information.

If you have been affected email ruth.lawes@archant.co.uk