Ananova:

A gang in Australia is bombarding houses with lemons fired at high speed from a homemade cannon with enough power to blast them through metal.

Police believe a pipe gun is being used to fire the fruit at homes in Newcastle, New South Wales, almost a mile away from the launching site.

Senior Constable Mitch Harvey said the lemon bullets could rip through a car door.

They also believe the gunners have easy access to their unusual ammunition, and may have a lemon tree in their backyard, the Melbourne Age newspaper reports.

Constable Harvey said: "I suppose they just want a bit of fun, but when the lemons land they come down with a heap of force. If they struck a young kid on the head they'd cause serious injury. It would kill someone if you stood in front of it and they shot you - they'd go straight through you."

Police have stepped up efforts to track down the lemon gunners after residents complained about being bombarded up to six times a day.

Constable Harvey said: "They're smashing into the back of their houses, they're just covered with fruit. These houses are cement rendered and you can see the acid stains where the lemons are hitting the walls."