Police staff manning the station in the Border village of Belleek were startled by a burst of automatic gunfire outside on Saturday evening.

As darkness had fallen when the incident took place at 8.50pm, staff did not leave the station to investigate further. Local residents also reported hearing the gunfire.

The following morning, police discovered that the bungalow next door to the station had been struck nine times.

Two bullets had hit the gable wall, four struck the outside back wall, and another three had gone through the roof of the conservatory, shattering glass.

A further two bullets struck the wall of the police station.

Fermanagh’s police chief, Gerry O’Callaghan, explained that the culprit appeared to have fired the gun, believed to have been an Ak47, from a point further along the Cliff Road close to Border crossing 205.

From that point the back road continues on towards Ballyshannon.

Police discovered 20 spent rounds of 7.62mm ammunition at the point from which shooting had taken place.