Police in Scotland called for help from the Catholic Church last week after being disturbed by what they thought was a “poltergeist” at a family home in South Lanarkshire.

The officers who were called to the house because of disturbances were expecting to deal with a prank or a mental health issue.

A mother was reported to be “extremely distressed” because of “violent and unexplained circumstances”.

After arriving at the address, a police source said, “They witnessed the lights going off, clothes flying across the room and the dog sitting on top of a hedge.”