Shocked villagers have been giving their reaction to a triple shooting in the Somerset village of Horton.

Police have launched a murder inquiry after the bodies of a man, woman and child were discovered on Tuesday evening.

Marie Crean, 54, who lives in the village and works as a care assistant at a local nursing home said her husband had been taking her to work through the village, when they saw police cars and an ambulance.

It is a quiet and happy village normally

Marie Crean Horton resident

"I thought it was a hit and run or something," she said.

"We didn't realise it was so serious.

"I was shocked when I heard on the radio there had been a shooting.

"It has really shook me up. I first thought, `Is it somebody I know?'. "It is a quiet and happy village normally.

"There is never any crime round here. There was a burglary about four or five years ago, but everybody helps each other and we all look out for suspicious characters in the village.

"I think people will be very shocked. I'm shocked."

Sad news

Nina Jerez, who runs the village post office less than 200 yards from where the three bodies were found, said her husband had heard the shots being fired.

"My husband was in the garden and he heard at least two shots and then there was a lot of screaming and calling out after that," she said.

"At first he thought it was children playing and then he realised the shots were a bit too loud for that and he heard some calling out, which was parents calling for their children to come in."

Another resident of Goose Lane, who did not wish to be named, said he had also heard the shots.

He said: "We did not think much more about it until we heard the sound of sirens, and then a few minutes after that police cars and ambulances started to go down the street so we realised something was going on."

Horton has a population of around 600.

There is only one church, St Peters, one pub, currently closed for refurbishment and a single shop inside the Post Office.