A woman has been taken to hospital with serious injuries as witnesses claim she was held hostage at her Kent home.

Locals described hearing gunshots after armed police smashed into a terraced house in Dartford.

Police said officers went to a house in Priory Road at 12.40pm on Saturday with a trained negotiator following reports of a "disturbance".

Witnesses described how police cordoned off the road and ordered people to stay inside their homes, before officers smashed through the front door of the property and went inside.

After an hour long stand-off, "pandemonium" broke out and neighbours heard what they described as sounding like two rounds of gunshots.

Kent Police confirmed a man and a woman were taken to a London hospital with serious injuries.

The house remained cordoned off and forensics teams could be seen entering the property late on Saturday evening.