A city woman who was enjoying a spot of gardening has been left shaken after finding a metal-tipped arrow lodged in her lawn.

Rebecca Ritchie, who lives in Bacton Road, Norwich, was out weeding on Sunday (June 19) morning when she came across the sharp object.

Ms Ritchie said she "couldn't believe her eyes" when she saw the fallen arrow - adding she was just relieved that her or her beloved Lhasa Apso dog, Treacle, were not in the garden at the time.

She said: "It could have injured someone - it's really dangerous.

"Luckily myself or my dog weren't outside when it happened but things could have been very different.

"When I showed my son he said if that had been fired with force it could have pierced my dog or gone through someone's leg.

"It's really worrying to think about what might have happened."

Ms Ritchie's garden backs on to Margaret Paston Avenue but she believes it could have been fired from "anywhere" due to the location of her house.

She added: "A lot of it depends on the direction of the wind because you just don't know how far it's travelled.

"I even heard The Killers and Elton John's concerts recently and I live in NR3."

Ms Ritchie, who currently works for the NHS, added that incidents like this are unusual in her area.

She added: "I've lived there for six years and have always felt it's a nice place to be.

"Of course there are some incidents that happen like cars backfiring on the main road nearby at 11pm or motorbikes whizzing past on a Sunday.

"Sometimes I think people don't always think about the consequences."

Ms Ritchie posted her discovery on social media which prompted a large reaction from people online before she later reported the incident to the police.

"I want to warn others and try to put the fear of god into the people that did it," added Ms Ritchie.

"The arrow has a silver metal end to it so it could have really hurt someone. Heavens above, we missed it."

Norfolk Constabulary has been contacted for comment.