A TERRIFYING abduction in Devon last night saw police scrambled - for what turned out to be the shooting of a new film.
The response came after police received numerous reports of a woman being bundled into the back of an ambulance at just before 7pm yesterday.
A number of teams, including dog units, were deployed in a bid to track down the suspects.
Officers located the decommissioned ambulance, reported to have been involved in the abduction, on the A361 North Devon Link Road near Ashford - only to find out the true nature of the incident minutes later.
Croyde filmmaker Alex Poray, who had been involved in the shooting of the abduction scene, explained: "It was the last day of filming for my first feature length film yesterday.
"The last thing we had to do was film this short abduction scene which we shot at the leisure centre car park, leaving it as late as we could.
"We did about four takes and got it nailed.
"Coming over the Taw Bridge after we wrapped up we saw an ambulance and police car racing the other way. I just thought ' I hope that's not for us'."
After being stopped by police while on the A361, Alex said the group were quick to clarify the situation with officers.
He said: "I apologised profusely, I hate to waste police time. As soon as he was happy he radioed in and said it was all fine. We were told next time a courtesy call would be appreciated.
"We had a good laugh about it, everyone saw the funny side. This is what happens with guerrilla film making.
"If we needed a few more takes we could have been surrounded by armed police at the leisure centre."
Although filming for the scene took a number of takes, Alex said he understood people's concerns - with cameras not being visible during the filming.
"I was filming inside the back of the ambulance so I had no idea whether there was anyone nearby watching," he said. "It also meant no one would have seen the camera.
"We just want to set the story straight for those people who called in, it was not a real abduction and no one has been hurt.
"We just want to put their minds at rest."
Following the incident, Detective Inspector Praveen Naidoo said:
"While it was quickly established that this was a filming project, if you are making anything like this please do get in touch before hand and make us aware."
The scenes will feature in Alex's first feature length film, horror story The Slayers - Portrait Of A Dismembered Family.
The Slayers is due to be released later this month. More information can be found on the group's Facebook page.
